


Rivilis Amiculus

by Attack_on_Kat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, M/M, Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, eventual levi/mikasa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 17:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 90,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19256038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Attack_on_Kat/pseuds/Attack_on_Kat
Summary: My name is Armin Arlert. I live in London with my sister, Amanda, and our grandpa. Our parents died when I was 8 and they left us with a book called 'History of Hogwarts' and it talked all about magic. We spent hours reading and rereading the book. My grandpa said that I wasn't a wizard and that my sister wasn't a witch, but he was wrong, as we both got acceptance letters to Hogwarts. There, I met two of my closest friends, and one person named Jaeger. He made fun of me and my sister about how we don't have a fortune of gold under our belts. For a long time I hated him, but people can change... Right?November 2, 2018 - Still Counting





	1. Muggle World

~Armin POV~

My parents died of Dragon Pox when I was 8. My sister and I weren't allowed to see them because of how easily and quickly it spreads. After they died, we were sent to our grandfather who has raised us ever since. We brought with us a book called 'History of Hogwarts' to keep a little bit of magic in our lives, as Grandpa is a muggle, someone who can't use magic.  
  


We started attending muggle schools after that. We were always made fun of for all the weird things that happened around us. This is one of the first signs that a child is a witch or wizard. One very prominent thing that happened to me was that my hair grew at abnormally fast rates. I'd cut my hair and the next day, it would be back to its original length. It went away as I got older. I taught myself to cut my hair and it has become a normal part of life now. Like showering or brushing your teeth. You don't think about it, you just do it. I keep my hair at shoulder length and a lot of students made fun of me for looking like a girl.

Whenever I was with Amanda, they'd call us the 'Arlert sisters' because of it. I got used to it after a while and it didn't take long before the others no longer got amusement from it.

~Amanda POV~

I spent hours with my brother reading that 'History of Hogwarts' book. The first time I read the descriptions of the houses, I was drawn to Slytherin. I felt like it was where I belonged and that my family was there. And if there's one word that describes me, it's 'cunning'. I always had the best comebacks in arguments, which led to most people leaving me alone.

 My first sign of magical ability was when I was 7 and first started muggle schooling. A few girls tried to intimidate me, probably to show dominance over all the new kids, and I just looked at them. But once they were leaving, one girl's shoelaces were suddenly tied together and the other's shoe was tied to the table. They both tripped and I ended up showing dominance over them. 

Another time, I was in a bad mood and the teacher made a joke about it, which led to her expensive vase flying across the room and smashing on the wall. This was my most prominent sign of magical ability. Whenever I got mad, something small, like a water bottle, would move. The vase flying was the only time something that extreme happened. Usually, it was something filled with liquid. As far as I remember, it has only happened once since I turned 10. 

I have the slightest memory of magic from the 7 years I lived with my parents, but after living in muggle conditions for so long, I've forgotten what it was like. Whenever my brother or I bring up magic, Grandpa is always so reluctant to talk to us about it. 

He'll say things like, "That's not important. What do you have for math homework?" All I ever dreamed was to see magic again, just once. 

~Armin POV~

I lived a muggle lifestyle for 3 years until finally, something life changing happened. I was getting the mail and I noticed one was for me.

**Mr A. Arlert**   
**Joint-bedroom**   
**6 Watling Street**   
**London**   
**Greater London**

It bore no stamp and the back was sealed with purple wax with a coat of arms that had a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake that surrounded a large letter _H._

"Grandpa? Amanda?" I called for my sister and grandfather as I walked to the living room with the mail and my letter.

"What is it, Armin?" My sister asked.

"There's a letter for me," I said and my Grandpa suddenly froze. "Grandpa?"

"...Read it, will you Armin?" Grandpa asked. I dropped the rest of the mail and carefully opened the letter.

 **"Dear Mr Arlert,**  
 **We are pleased to announce that you have been accepted to...** ** _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_** ** _!"_** I suddenly shouted and my sister gasped.

"Hogwarts? You mean the one in the book?" she asked and ran to me to look at the letter.

"I think it is, Amanda."

"I knew this day would come..." Grandpa mumbled.

"Is-Is the one for me? _Surely_ I'll be attending Hogwarts with you, right? I mean, if you're a wizard then I _must_ be a witch," Amanda pushed.

"No... This is the only one..." I replied sadly.

"But..."

"You're too young, Amanda," Grandpa suddenly spoke up and we looked at him. "You have to be 11 to go. You'll have to wait a year."

"It says I'll be attending September 1st. _'We expect your owl'?_ What does that mean?" I asked. Grandpa walked past me and opened the front door. There, on the doormat, was an owl and a large package. He gently picked up the owl and the package.

"Well, you ought to write them back. They'll drop you out if you don't," he said. 

I ran to find some paper and a pencil and write back.

"What's the package?" Amanda asked.

"This would be money to buy your books and everything," he replied shaking the package. Coins clanked inside.

"How much is in it?" I inquired.

"Everything you need to buy your supplies."

"Why are you so okay with this all of a sudden? You used to avoid the topic of magic whatever the cost," Amanda pointed out.

"I might as well stop denying you have magic," he explained. "I just want you two to live the most normal life possible, but you've already been accepted so there's no point dropping out." 

I finished my letter and sealed the envelope, "When do we start shopping?" I asked.

"I don't know how or where. You probably know more about the wizarding world than I do."

"I'm actually going to Hogwarts..."

 


	2. Diagon Alley

~Armin POV~

A teacher ended up getting me from the house to go get my supplies. His name was Professor Kenny Ackerman. He's the charms teacher and was very enthusiastic about some stories he had about his students. He told me all about them exploding things and burning off their eyebrows. He really sounded and acted like a cowboy. It made me a little nervous. He brought me to a pub and took me behind a desk where he tapped a few times on the wall. A hole broke in it and it led to a long alley of shops.

"This is Diagon Alley. Now you have your list and money?" Ackerman asked.

"Yes."

"Good. This is where I leave you. I have to help out a muggle-born. You'll find everything. Don't worry." With that, he left and I was on my own to find all I need. 

I had taken with me my mum's old trunk to hold everything and the money. Looking at the list, the first thing I needed was robes. Looking at all the shops, I saw one named _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ so I walked into there first.

"Welcome! Welcome! Are you here for robes?" A witch asked me.

"Yes."

"Hogwarts?"

"Yes." I felt so awkward and out of place, that was all I could say.

"Well, let's get you fitted. Stand over here." She led me to a stool and I stepped up. "Are you here by yourself?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. 

She raised my arms to my sides and a measuring tape floated around me to take my measurements, "Where are your parents?"

"They died a few years back. I'm raised by my muggle Grandfather."

"I'm sorry about that. Now, let's get started on your skirt," she suddenly announced.

"Skirt?" I questioned.

"Well, yeah. All witches wear skirts at Hogwarts."

"I'm a wizard," I grumbled. "Not a witch."

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were a girl," she apologised. 

I sighed, "It's fine. Everyone does..."

"Well, you'll be getting some trousers instead. I'm so sorry about that," she told me. 

A few other people came in for their robes and I stood with my arms up while the measuring tape floated around me. I got my robes and put them in my trunk. 

Next were the books. I looked through the second-hand books to save money and I was able to find some in good condition for the lower price. After that, was all the extra supplies. Cauldron, glass vials, telescope, and brass scales I bought all second hand. The only thing I didn't buy second hand was my wand. 

I saw a store called _Ollivanders_ that had wands in the window, so I assumed I needed to go there.

"Welcome to Ollivanders! Are you ready to get your wand?" The clerk asked.

"Um... I suppose..."

"Don't worry, kid. Nobody has broken something in years," he replied.

"Well, that's reassuring..." It wasn't reassuring at all.

"Let's start with this one." He pulled a wand from the shelf. "11 1/2 inches, English Oak wood, Dragon Heartstring core." He handed me the wand and I took the handle. "Well, go on and give it a flick." 

I flicked my wrist and nothing happened. 

He snatched it from my hand and put it back on the shelf, "Let's try this one. 13 inches, Apple wood, Phoenix Feather core." 

I did the same thing. Nothing happened, "How long does this usually take?" I asked giving him back the wand.

"Usually, third time's a charm. 12 3/4 inches, Cypress wood, Unicorn hair core." He handed me the wand and I took it from him. I felt a sudden warmth in my fingers. 

I flicked the wand and it left a ray of golden sparks. 

"Well done! That was brilliant!" he beamed. I gave him the 7 galleons and left the shop. 

At that point, I thought I was done, but I saw at the bottom of the note,

**_"Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad."_ **

I found the pet shop and looked through the animals. Many people were looking at cats so I looked over at the toads. They didn't really interest me, so I went over to the owls. Dragging my trunk behind me, I slowly looked at the majestic birds. One, in particular, caught my eye. A snowy owl with amber eyes.

"Can I help you?" One of the managers walked up to me.

"Is that one for sale?" I asked pointing at the snowy owl.

"Yes, she's about 6 months old." The manager pulled her out of her cage and carefully placed her in my arms. She didn't struggle and she let me pet her head.

"Does she have a name?"

"No, we don't call them anything so the owners can name them."

"How much is she?"

"20 galleons," they replied.

"I'll take her," I decided. They led me to the desk and I was lucky enough to have 20 galleons left over from getting most things second hand. I put her food and everything in the trunk and carried her cage back home.

Before I left, the store was kind enough to put me in a private room with her before I had to go. I let her out of her cage and she flapped up to my lap.

"Hi there." I gently pet her head. "You're going to need a name..." She looked up at me and looked like she was smiling. "How about Alba?" I looked back at her and she blinked, still smiling. "You like that name? Alba?" She nibbled at my fingers affectionately and I smiled. "It's settled then! Alba."

 


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

~Armin POV~

Soon, September rolled in and Grandpa dropped me off at King's Cross. I was left alone and I looked at the ticket.

"Platform 9 3/4?" It didn't make any sense. I stayed and kept looking back and forth between 9 and 10. About 15 minutes passed before a boy tapped my shoulder.

"Excuse me? You're in the way," he said.

"In the way of what?" I asked.

"Um..." He didn't respond. 

I looked at his trunk and I noticed the Hogwarts coat of arms, "You going to Hogwarts too?" I asked.

"Oh! You're a wizard! I'm sorry, I couldn't tell if you were a muggle and, you know, we're not allowed to talk about magic to them," he explained.

"I have an owl. What would a muggle be doing here with a snowy owl in a cage?" I questioned.

"I suppose you're right..."

"Well, do you know where 9 3/4 is? I've been standing here clueless," I replied.

"Yeah. You just run through there." He pointed between 9 and 10. "There's a barrier that you need to pass through. Just run and don't stop. You'll crash into it if you do."

"Just... Just run?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm starting this year so I've never done it, but you should be fine," he added.

"Alright... Thanks." I moved up against platform 9 and took a few moments before I went for it. I held onto Alba's cage and started running. I kept running and expected a crash, but it didn't happen. I opened my eyes after I heard a loud train whistle. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform that said '9 3/4'. 

I pulled out my ticket and was let on the train. I put Alba in a compartment before dragging my trunk through the door. With a little bit of struggle, I managed to get it in and sat in the compartment with Alba. Eventually, the boy who helped me peaked through the door.

"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

"Not at all!" I gestured to the seat on the opposite side of me and he sat down.

"I'm Connie Springer, by the way. I forgot to introduce myself."

"Armin Arlert. Thanks for your help back there. I was so lost."

"No problem. What kind of wand do you have?" he asked.

"Oh?" I pulled out my wand. "It's Cypress wood and unicorn hair," I answered. 

He pulled out his wand as well as a book that said _The Philosophy of Wands._

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Huh? It's on the shelf next to the desk at Ollivanders. I got it for the ride to Hogwarts." When he said that, the train started moving.

"How long is the ride?" I asked.

"Ages! It'll be dark by the time we get there," he replied and opened the book. "Cypress wood..." he mumbled as he looked through it. "It says that Cypress wielders will die a heroic death."

I blinked and looked at him confused, "What?"

"It's just a philosophy but it's interesting," he said.

"I hope I don't have to," I mumbled.

"It says they're rarely called to lay down their lives but would do so if required. You think you're going to be in Gryffindor?"

"No. I'm not brave. At all," I stressed.

"Then what house are you hoping for?"

"Ravenclaw. There's no other place for me."

"I'm likely to get into Ravenclaw too. I have a long history of it in my family. Almost 100% Ravenclaws," he stated.

"Anything from the trolley?" A witch opened our compartment and pushed a trolley of candies into view. I noticed there were price tags on them so I said no.

"I'll take some," Connie pulled some money from his bag and bought a handful for both of us.

"You didn't have to do that," I said looking at all the sweets.

"It's no problem. Besides, we have a long day ahead of us. You need to treat yourself," he protested. Soon, the door opened again.

"Excuse me?" A girl with brown hair in a ponytail came in. "Do you know where the trolley lady went?" she asked.

"She should be down the hall-"

"WHAT THE HELL!" I jumped back to the window and crossed my arms in front of my face. A rat was digging into the candy next to me. "What is that doing here!" It had one of the candies called _Mouthburner_ and the girl picked it up.

"Good job! Wedge!" she chirped and took the candy from its mouth.

"Wedge?" Connie questioned.

"'Cuz potatoes," she replied.

"You could have asked... Why a rat? Of all the animals you could have brought to Hogwarts..." I sighed as I eased back to my former spot.

"They don't cost anything to take care of. You can feed them during mealtime in the Great Hall. They don't need any special food."

"But the school takes care of your owl in the Owlery. They feed them and everything," Connie argued.

"Is that one yours?" she asked pointing at Alba.

"No, she's mine," I said putting my hand on her cage.

"Well, keep it away from my rat. Snowy owls are carnivorous," she said putting the candy in her mouth.

"Who even are you?" Connie asked. 

She looked up surprised and pushed the candy to her cheek, "Sasha Blouse," She replied not caring to finish what was in her mouth. She joined us in the compartment and we introduced ourselves.

"Connie Springer."

"Armin Arlert."

"You're a boy?" she nearly shouted and I rolled my eyes.

"You couldn't tell he's a boy?" Connie asked. 

I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder, "Thank you..." I whispered. 

Sasha shrugged and returned to eating. I dug my face into the charms book to pass the time and eventually, the train stopped.

We were led to a dock with small boats by one of the staff members. Sasha joined a few other girls in a separate boat and Connie and I went into a boat with one other boy.

"Hello," he said, his voice sounded uninterested and a little cold. "What house are you hoping for?"

"Ravenclaw," Connie and I replied in unison.

"I'm positive I'll be in Slytherin. My dad was placed there when he attended here. He's actually the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. My sister might not get placed there. She's not a pure-blood like I am," he ranted about himself while checking his hair in the reflection of the river.

"But you share parents. How does that make your blood purity different?" Connie asked.

"She's adopted. Took up our last name, can't say I blame her. It'd be embarrassing to have the last name of her parents after almost becoming an Obscurial." 

I didn't ask what it meant. He obviously would have made fun of me if I did. 

"What are your surnames?"

"Springer."

"Arlert," we replied.

"Oh, I've heard of your family, Springer. You're a pure-blood family of Ravenclaws," he boasted still checking his reflection. "I'm the heir of the Jaeger family. They call me Eren, but I prefer Jaeger."

"Nice to meet you, Jaeger," I replied.

"I've never heard of your family, Arlert. What's the house history of your family?"

"I think my parents were both Ravenclaws. I don't know anything beyond that," I explained.

He finally turned to look at us and stared at me, "What happened to your hair?" he puzzled. 

I awkwardly pushed the locks behind my shoulders, "It used to grow really fast. I got used to it being long after a while."

"Wow, that's... really long," he mumbled with a little bit of a squint.

"Um... Thanks?" I didn't know if he was insulting me or not. 

Eventually, we arrived at the castle and were led into the Great Hall for our sorting. I didn't want to talk to this Jaeger boy so I distanced myself from him.

"Quite arrogant, that one," Connie whispered to me once he was out of earshot.

"I hope he isn't put into Slytherin," I stated.

"Why?"

"My sister fits the house perfectly. I don't want her dealing with _that_ on a daily basis."

"Well, it's time for the sorting!" We walked into the Great Hall and behind the staff table was a banner for each house.

"Arlert, Armin." One of the professors was holding the sorting hat and I was the first to go up. I suddenly felt anxious and looked at Connie.

"Go on! Join Ravenclaw." He hit my shoulder and I started walking up. 

The professor placed the hat on me and I closed my eyes.

"RAVENCLAW!" It shouted. 

A big smile came across my face and the professor removed the hat. The Ravenclaws cheered loudly and I ran to join them. After greeting everyone, I searched the crowd for Connie. I eventually found him and he gave me a thumbs up. The sorting ceremony went on, each table cheering loudly as their house was called.

"Blouse, Sasha."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" I then realized I'd have to wait until S for Connie to be sorted.

"Bott, Marco."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Carolina, Mina."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Fritz, Ymir."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Jaeger, Eren." He walked up with a smug smile on its face and sat in the chair. 

To his absolute shock, the sorting hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" 

His smile immediately left his face and talked to the professor. He gestured to go to the Gryffindor table and eventually gave in, completely disappointed. I couldn't stop myself from laughing after what he said in the boat.

"Jaeger, Mikasa." A girl I assumed to be the sister he was talking about walked up. She didn't look anything like Jaeger.

"SLYTHERIN!" Her brother's mouth dropped in shock and she walked over to the Slytherin table. That's when I lost it. People questioned what I was laughing about, and I just played it off.

"Kirstein, Jean."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Leonhardt, Annie."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Reiss, Historia."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Springer, Connie." I stood up to watch him get placed, anxiously hoping the next thing I'd hear was 'Ravenclaw'. He sat down and the hat was placed on him.

"RAVENCLAW!" I cheered as he ran to sit with me, both of us smiling happily. We were both placed in Ravenclaw and were rapidly becoming friends.

 


	4. Chapter 4

~Armin POV~

After the sorting, we listened to a speech from Headmaster Kieth Shadis, then treated to a fantastic feast in the Great Hall.

"Did you see the look on Jaeger's face when his sister made it into Slytherin?" I asked Connie during the feast.

"No, I bet it was brilliant," He replied and we both laughed.

"Shame Sasha couldn't sit with us. She probably has some interesting stories," I said.

"She told a few on the train while you were reading the charms book."

"I still don't know what to think of her rat. Do you think she has it with her?" I asked and tried to find her.

"...There she is. She's feeding it a potato," Connie said after a few minutes.

"Well, we have most classes with Hufflepuff. We'll probably see her again," I said. The feast went on and eventually, the Headmaster ordered the prefects to lead the first years to the dorms.

"Alright, everyone. I'm your prefect, Zeke Jaeger and I'll be making sure you pupils don't cost us house points." I snapped to look at the source of the voice after I heard Jaeger.

"Is the entire family in the school?" Connie asked and I shrugged. We followed Jaeger to the tower and he stopped at the door.

"Now, like Gryffindor and Slytherin, you need a password to get in. However, for us, you get the password by solving the riddle." He knocked on the eagle knocker and it spoke,

**_"I am not clothes, but I cover your body;_ **   
**_The more I'm used, the thinner I grow._ **   
**_What am I?"_ **

The short girl, Reiss, put her hand in the air.

"Yes?"

"A bar of soap," She said and the door opened. When it did, she got a round of applause from us.

"Thank you, Reiss. This is our common room."

"As you ascend the stairs beyond the door, girls dorms are on the right, boys on the left. 5 people per dorm max. Once you reach your dorm, you are to put your uniforms in the drawers and by morning, they'll have the Ravenclaw emblem and your ties will be blue and bronze. It's very late and you pupils need rest so please do that now." Connie and I were lucky enough to bunk together with a few other boys and we even got a beautiful view of the school from our window.  
  
  


~Eren POV~

I was furious that I was put into Gryffindor. My mum was put there when she went, but I don't reflect her whatsoever. Mikasa making it into Slytherin only made it worse. Everyone at the table tried to welcome me, but I shot them down.

"I should be in Slytherin."

"Why would you want to be with them? Most of the dark wizards are Slytherins."

"I have a sense of logic, unlike you lot!" One of the students grabbed my goblet and poured its contents on my head.

"Shut up and accept your true self!" She said. It was that Fritz girl that went before me. My best friend, Jean, came up next to me.

"Gryffindor too?" I asked rubbing my hair with my sleeve.

"Yeah, quite a loss," He replied.

"I'll have you know, Gryffindors are well known to be heroes," Another student said.

"Yeah? I don't want to be a hero. My main priority is to learn and grow myself. I haven't got time for gits!" I continued to try drying my hair.

"Quit moping about it and enjoy the feast! You can't change your house once you're placed," Fritz said. I stayed silent for the entire feast. I didn't listen to the prefects while they were guiding me up the tower or anything. I felt disgusted surrounded by endless amounts of scarlet and gold.

When I woke up the next morning to see that my uniform now had the Gryffindor emblem, I almost puked.

"Why!" I exclaimed as I stared at my robe.

"Eren, just put it on. You can't change it," Jean said.

"But it's- Look at it!"

"Eren, I'm not going to be late because of you," Jean said as he picked up his wand and books. I rolled my eyes and lazily pushed my arm through the sleeve.

"I hate red..." I sloppily put on my tie and descended the tower to breakfast. We got our schedules there. First thing I had was charms with Ravenclaws, Jean had the same. We walked to the class where Professor Ackerman was waiting for us.

"Now, who can tell me what _Wingardium Leviosa_ does?" He asked. The bloke I met on the boat, Arlert, raised his hand.

"It allows you to levitate objects. It doesn't work on humans though," He said.

"Excellent Arlert! 5 points to Ravenclaw. How did you know?" Ackerman asked.

"I read the charms book on the train," He replied.

"Brilliant, now, what is probably the most important thing..." I glared over at Arlert smiling and laughing with his new bestie, Springer. "...is the swish and flick." The professor did the wrist motion as he said it. "Say it with me, everyone."

_"Swish and flick,"_

"Good, now try and levitate your feathers." With a flick of his wand, a single feather appeared for each student. "Wands ready? Begin."

 _"Wingardium Leviosa."_ Still salty about wearing the Gryffindor emblem, I swished my wand back and forth lazily. The words _Wengardium Leviosa_ echoed through the room at different times. Ten minutes passed and nobody had succeeded, until...

 _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Arlert's feather was flying around the classroom. He was standing and smiling as he made it move towards the professor.

"Fantastic Arlert! Another 5 points to Ravenclaw," Ackerman announced. He continued to smile and brought the feather back to him. I finally sat up and inhaled to cast the spell before I heard an explosion and jumped. Jean had attempted the spell and it didn't work. His face was scorched and his feather had turned to ash.

"I think he needs another one," I said and the students chuckled. I was able to lift my feather a foot or two before it fell back on the desk. Several other students had managed to lift it, I just wasn't one of them.

~Armin POV~

During dinner, Connie and I had some fun with the levitating charm. We were trying it on utensils and on an apple I cut into slices.

"You're not allowed to use magic in the Great Hall." I looked up and I saw Eren Jaeger.

"Then why isn't anyone stopping us? The staff don't seem to care," I replied.

"You haven't exactly harnessed control over your magic yet. It's dangerous for first years to attempt magic, especially after one day of classes."

"The prefects would have gotten to us much faster than you," Connie said.

"While it isn't exactly a rule, you just don't do it. The Gryffindor table is right next to yours, and I don't want you firing an unknown spell my way."

"What's the worst that can happen?" I asked. He put one hand on his hip and the other on his chin.

"Uh... Detention for both of you, and losing house points in your case."

"You're not allowed to do that. You're in the same year as us."

"Yes, but I already told you, my dad is the DA teacher, and my mum teaches Herbology," He said. "My half brother is also your prefect as I'm sure you already know."

"That doesn't mean you run this place," Connie said.

"I still will report rule-breaking as soon as I hear about it. So I suggest you put your wands away and eat." He turned his heel and walked back to the Gryffindor table. "Also, get a pair of scissors." My jaw dropped and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Well, _that_ was childish," I said.

"I think he's just mad he isn't in Slytherin. Don't take it personally," Connie replied and put his wand away.

"He just insulted me for no reason. I do have a pair of scissors and I cut my hair when I need to." I touched my hair and noticed that it was halfway down my shoulders. "Okay well... Maybe I should tonight..."

"Maybe he's jealous that you were the first to cast it correctly?"

"Or maybe he's just a git." I picked up my fork and knife and started eating again. I glared over to the Gryffindor table. This Jaeger guy is going to be a serious problem.

 


	5. The Jaeger Problem

~Armin POV~

The first class we had with Sasha was Defense Against Dark Arts, or DA for short. There, we met Jaeger's dad, Professor Jaeger.

"Who can tell me what _Petrificus Totalus_ does?" he asked as he paced the room slowly. I flipped through the book and found the page about the spell. After reading it over, I raised my hand. "No one...?" I waved my hand and the professor ignored me. "Very well. Now I know you have a lot to learn." I looked around and awkwardly put my hand down.

"I guess arrogance runs in the family," Connie whispered to me.

"20 points from Ravenclaw!" Jaeger suddenly shouted and made us jump. Everyone in the class stared at us. "I don't allow chatting in my classroom. Is that clear?"

"Yes, professor."

"Yes, _sir!"_ he shouted.

"Y-yes, sir." I was scared to the point of stuttering.

"Thank you. Now, _Petrificus Totalus_ is the Full Body-Bind Curse. In the past, teachers have used students to demonstrate the curses, the exceptions being the Unforgivable Curses which you will learn in your fourth year." Curiosity got the better of me and I flipped through the book to see if I could find anything on the Unforgivable Curses. "You have the year one book, Arlert," I looked up from the book and the entire class was looking at me again. "There's nothing on the Unforgivable Curses in there." I awkwardly closed the book and pushed it to the front of the desk.

"Sorry, sir," I said and put my hands under the desk.

"Hands above the desk!" he shouted. I jumped and quickly put them back on the desk. I blushed slightly and looked back at the professor. "Thank you. Now, I will be demonstrating on these spiders I have here instead of you." He walked over to his desk and took out one of them. He cleared his throat and pointed his wand at it. _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ The spider immediately stiffened and fell to its side. "You will also be trying this on a spider. Read the paragraph on page 38 and raise your hand when you're ready." We had invited Sasha to sit next to us to study together, but it seemed like his teaching style was independent work. I read it over twice before I raised my hand. A few other students already had their spiders and were quietly whispering,

 _"Petrificus Totalus."_ Professor Jaeger stared at me for a little bit before he gave me a spider.

"My son told me you're quite the troublemaker," he said. I looked at him, but didn't reply. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, and so will my Ravenclaw son. We can't have you causing trouble on campus," he said.

"Yes, sir," I said and he left. I began to attempt the spell on the spider. I looked back at the book a couple of times before I was able to cast it successfully. When the spider stiffened and fell, I raised my hand.

"Yes, Arlert?"

"What do we do when we're done?" I asked.

"You're finished?" he asked.

"Yes." I poked at one of the spider's legs and it didn't move. The professor came over and looked at my spider.

"Well then, why don't you demonstrate for the class," he said, loud enough to get the attention of the entire class. He walked to the front of the class and said, _"Accio Dummy!"_ A dummy on wheels came through the closet door. He looked at me and gestured to the dummy. I picked up my wand and walked to the front. Now, I was standing and I took a sort of defensive stance.

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ A white flash came from my wand and hit the dummy. The professor went over to the dummy and tried to move the arms. They didn't budge and the wheels didn't move either.

"...Impressive," he said and I got a round of applause from the class. "5 points to Ravenclaw."

"May I return to my seat?" I asked.

"Yes, you may."

"Only five after taking 20?" Connie asked when I sat down.

"We'll earn more in other classes. Don't lose more," I replied.

After that, we had lunch in the Great Hall. Sasha joined us at the Ravenclaw table and nobody cared. Most students have picnics outside for lunch and those who go into the Great Hall study. We practiced the levitation charm on some of our books before our prefect, Zeke Jaeger, walked up to us.

"Um... Before I say anything, I just want you to know that I'm really glad someone is still eager to learn and practice," he said. Connie and I sighed. "I have a really annoying brother..." he said. "And I have to ask you to spare me of a headache tonight and not do this during mealtime? Normally I'd encourage it, but I really don't want to have to listen to him tonight."

"You're a prefect though. He shouldn't be bossing you around," Connie said.

"My dad is a teacher and when I got the prefect badge, he said that I can't take points from my siblings. He was afraid that I'd assume too much authority over the family and he doesn't want me to become a second father of the family. I wish there was a different way, but I'm begging you to please spare me," he replied.

"Alright, fine. But can you ask him to stay away from us? He's been nothing but a git," I replied.

"Sure, thank you for helping me out. You can practice during lunch. This place becomes a study hall during lunch," he finished.

"Thank you."  
  


The months rolled by, and snow covered the school. Sasha stuck around us more often and slowly grew from a study partner to a friend. We were in the courtyard walking to our usual study spot when Jaeger passed by. He tripped me and I fell face first into the snow. I pushed myself up and shook the snow out of my eyes. He was with Kirstein and they were both looking down at me and slightly covering their mouths, laughing. I looked at them as they walked away then out of nowhere, a snowball hit the back of his head.

"Ow! Was that you, Blouse?" he angrily shouted and dusted the snow out of his hair.

"You're lucky I only aimed for your precious hair instead of that 50 galleon coat you have there! I won't be so considerate next time you harass my friends!" she shouted back. Jaeger had nothing to say and left without arguing back.

"So he's a git _and_ rich?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've seen his sister with the same brand," Sasha replied. Connie helped me up and brushed the snow off of some of my books.

"Thanks..." I said once everything was in my bag.

"I should be thanking you guys..." Sasha replied, her arms wrapped around herself. "I... I don't really have any other friends than you two and Wedge."

"You don't?" I asked. She seemed like a really likeable person to me.

"Yeah, a lot of people think I'm weird and stay away from me. I grew up surrounded by muggles because I'm a muggle-born. I was forced to go to muggle schools and you know what happens then," she said.

"Oh... I know how that feels..." I replied.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked.

"Sending a witch or wizard to a muggle school almost guarantees bullying. You're always 'the weird kid' because of whatever your premature magic does," I explained.

"I ate my feelings away. People stared at me, constantly eating and many times, kids stole my lunch," Sasha said. "I guess it's a little bit of a habit because I snack a lot, but none of the other Hufflepuffs talk to me."

"I'm... Sorry to hear about that," Connie said. "I'm glad you joined us, Sasha." she smiled.

"Thank you."

 


	6. Going Home

~Armin POV~

The holidays were approaching and we had the opportunity to go home an be with our families.

"Do you guys think you could come over for dinner during the break? I can ask my Grandpa if it's okay," I offered to Connie and Sasha.

"If my parents will let me, I'll definitely come over," Connie said.

"What part of England do you live in?" Sasha asked.

"I live in London. I can walk to The Leaky Cauldron from my house."

"I live close to The Leaky Cauldron too! My parents should be okay with it."

"Great! I'll write to him and ask." I ran back to the Ravenclaw tower to write my note.

**_"Dear Grandpa and Amanda,_ **   
**_I hope you guys are doing well. My term has been going great, but I've been so busy with work, it completely slipped my mind to write to you. I was sorted into Ravenclaw and I've made two amazing friends, Connie and Sasha. We're allowed to go home for the holidays and I was wondering if it would be okay for them to come over for dinner. They're both okay with coming over and look forward to it. I look forward to seeing you again._ **

**_-Armin"_ **

I put the note into an envelope and went over to the Owlery. I looked for Alba and she flew to me, rubbing her beak into my chest.

"Oh, Alba. I'm happy to see you too," I said. I put her onto a perch and pulled out my letter. "I need you to deliver this to Grandpa and Amanda." She hooted and stuck out her leg for me to tie the letter to it. I carried her outside and released her. I watched her fly away until she disappeared into the grey winter sky.

Grandpa gave his consent and Amanda was looking forward to meeting my friends. Before going to my house, we stopped by Diagon Alley to get gifts. I went to Honeydukes and got as much wizarding candy I could afford. It was the most I could afford for everybody. Connie insisted on getting my sister something and asked me what she would like.

"Anything that has to do with Slytherin. She'll love it if it's green," I replied. While we were walking through, I noticed Jaeger and his sister in Madam Malkin's and it got me thinking about what he said about his sister on the boat. "Hey Connie, what's an Obscurial?" I asked.

"Huh? It's a young wizard or witch who is the host of an Obscurus."

"...What's an Obscurus?"

"It's like this dark magical parasite that comes from suppressing your magic. Why do you ask?"

"I just remembered what Jaeger said about his sister and I didn't know what it meant," I replied and looked at them through the window. "So she tried to suppress her magic?"

"Most likely," he said and noticed I was staring at them. "You said your sister would like anything that's green?" he asked trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, she's really hoping to be put in Slytherin."

"I'm going to get her something from Madam Malkin's. Sasha is probably in the joke shop," he said and left.

We met up just outside Diagon Alley and went to see my grandpa and Amanda. Amanda greeted me with a hug. Grandpa had dinner ready for everyone and Connie was mind blown at the muggle technology. We had a lot of fun after dinner with the magical candies, especially the Every Flavoured Beans, which was my gift to everyone. We went to Sasha and Connie's houses for dinner there too throughout the week, but we soon had to return to Hogwarts.

The first class we had once we got back was potions. We have a very... Interesting teacher for that class.

"Welcome back......." His name is Professor Hannes. "Hope you had a _wonderful_ break." Sometimes, he comes and his speech is slurred. Everyone thinks he's been hitting the Fire whiskey. "Well, the year is coming to an end soon and this will be the final potion we'll learn to make before finals. Antidote to Common Poisons," he said rubbing his head and eyes.

"You think he's hungover again?" I asked Connie. He nodded his head.

"Open your books to 136. Follow the instructions, you know the drill." I brought my book with me to the ingredient shelf to get everything I needed.

"Bezoar, Standard Ingredient, Unicorn Horn, and Mistletoe Berries..." I said aloud as I gathered the ingredients. I returned to my seat and started to crush the Bezoar. I copied down the steps and ingredients as I did them. I wrote down as much as I could to study for finals.

I spent every night studying from that point on. I added endless amounts of notes in my textbooks and had a mountain of notebooks to review before testing. I took studying to breakfast too and halfway into May, a letter fell onto my book and startled me. It was a note from Amanda.

**_"Dear Armin,_ **   
**_Final testing is coming up in the muggle schools and I assume they're happening at Hogwarts too. I've been looking at the History of Hogwarts book and it says you have a lot of testing ahead. I just wanted to say good luck and hope you pass your exams. This will be my last time at a muggle school and I'll finally be able to join you. Also, if you haven't forgotten, my birthday is on the 5th. I'll see you soon._ **   
**_-Amanda"_ **

I put her note back in the envelope and got a paper to write her back.

**_"Dear Amanda,_ **   
**_I haven't forgotten about your birthday. I'm afraid your birthday falls right onto finals wee_ ** **_k_ ** **_and I won't be able to send or get you anything then. I promise that I'll get you something and it'll be better than some chocolate frogs. I'm looking forward to when you can attend Hogwarts with me. I've learned so much and it's been so much fun. Good luck with your testing._ **   
**_-Armin"_ **

I went to the Owlery to send the letter off to her. Testing took place soon after, but I was able to get through it all with passing grades. I got an _Outstanding_ (O) in Transfiguration and Charms. Everything else but DA was _Exceeds Expectations_ (E) _._ In DA I only got _Acceptable_ (A). I think Professor Jaeger just hates me though. We had a big feast on the final day of school and when we were done, we boarded Hogwarts Express to go home for the summer.

Before I went home, I stopped by Diagon Alley to get something for Amanda. I went to Madam Malkin's to look for something. I looked at some jewellery, but they all were too expensive. I noticed some rings outside of glass cases and hoped they would be more affordable. I kept looking to see if there was anything she would like. Then I saw it. I quickly moved down to the edge of the display and picked up a ring. It was a mood ring with a snake design. A magical mood ring that was enchanted to show the wearer's actual mood.

I put it on my finger to test it out. The gem turned yellow, which the colour chart said meant curiosity. I was pleased with the ring and bought it for 5 galleons. Home was just a walking distance from the Leaky Cauldron and I had the perfect gift for Amanda.

"Armin! Welcome back!" Amanda hugged me and let me inside. I pulled my trunk in and put Alba on it.

"I got you your birthday gift," I said.

"What is it?" she asked. I pulled the small box out of my pocket and gave it to her. She opened it and examined the design. "It's beautiful," she said.

"That's not all, it's a mood ring that accurately shows your mood." She looked at me and dropped her jaw.

"Really!" She put it on her right ring finger and it turned black, shock. "That is amazing! Thank you!" she exclaimed and gave me another hug.

"I'm happy to be back."

 


	7. 2nd Year, Amanda's Sorting

~Amanda POV~

I soon got my acceptance letter and loans for my supplies. Armin gave me his books to save money, which I didn't mind much. He had lots of notes to make my life easier and they were still in good shape. Once Armin received his loan, we set off for Diagon Alley to prepare for the year. We got my wand first. It was made of Walnut wood, Dragon heartstring core, and 12 1/2 inches. While I was being tested for my wand, Armin looked at _The Philosophy of Wands_ book and bought it when I was done.

After we got my potion supplies, we stopped by the pet shop. I looked around at the cats, but none seemed to like me much.

"I don't want an owl. It's too much of a hassle," I said to Armin as I pulled my hand away from a cat held by an employee that was about to claw me.

"What about this one?" A boy with blonde hair and freckles holding a calico cat pointed to a silver one. He was next to a worker and I approached them.

"It is very pretty. Girl or boy?" I asked.

"She's a girl," The worker replied and held her for me to pet her. For once, it didn't try to scratch me.

"How much is it?" Armin asked.

"10 galleons." The worker passed her to me.

"Oh, that's affordable, right?" I asked and looked at Armin.

"I suppose, but it'll be your responsibility to take care of it," he replied.

"Are you starting this year?" The freckled boy asked. I looked back at him and pushed my glasses up my nose.

"Yes, I am," I replied.

"Wow, you're being friendly! You're very impressive, young man. She's usually as warm as a block of ice," Armin said with very obvious exaggeration.

"Armin! I'm not that mean," I said rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Well, I trust you enough to stay alive on your own here. I'll be getting my books. Don't leave this shop until I get back, okay?" He said.

"Alright."  
  
  


~Armin POV~

I left to the bookshop with my list of textbooks for this year. Again with my mum's trunk, I went into the second-hand section once again so I had less to pay off. As I piled the books into my trunk, I heard a familiar, cold voice.

"What's the matter, Arlert? Can't afford new books?" It was Jaeger, wearing a designer summer cloak over his Gryffindor uniform that said _Songal_ on the left side.

"Shut-up, Jaeger. I don't intend to waste my time with you this year," I replied and put one of the textbooks in my trunk.

"How cold," he said. "I guess your frigid house has started to rub on you. Do you even have enough to stay warm? Or do you have to cuddle with mummy to survive the nights?"

"Jaeger, leave me alone." I tried my best to leave my wand in my pocket. I wanted to hex him so badly.

"Eren," His sister came in. "We're going to the Quidditch Supply store."

"Good. There's a new Firebolt. I hear it's about 700 galleons," he said with his signature smug look. "Probably worth more than your house multiplied." I couldn't even think to reply. I bit on my lip and waited for him to leave. As he was leaving, he still bragged. "Gryffindor hasn't lost a Quidditch championship in centuries. It'd be embarrassing to walk in with a Nimbus 2001."

"I actually think the Nimbus 2001 looks the best..." His sister replied as their voices faded out. When they were finally gone, I sniffed and rubbed my eyes. _Or do you need to cuddle with mummy to survive the nights?_ I missed my mum. The cruel world had to take her from me when I was only 8. I tightened my hand on the handle of the trunk as I thought of her. On the lid, her maiden initials, A. E., were scratched in next to the worn out Ravenclaw emblem. I pulled myself together and went to the desk to pay for my books.

I went back to the pet store to get Amanda and she was in one of the rooms with the freckled boy. She bought the silver cat and he seemed to have purchased the cat he was holding when we ran into him.

"Amanda, I've got all my supplies. Let's go home," I said with a slight sigh, still a bit emotional after what happened in the bookstore.

"Aww, okay." She picked up her cat and took the handle of her trunk. "Bye." She waved at the boy and we left. We walked down the alley in complete silence until she spoke up. "That boy from the pet shop was really nice."

"Did you get his name?" I asked. She silently gasped and stopped for a moment before walking again.

"I didn't..." she said.

"Is he going to Hogwarts?"

"I don't know. Are there other wizarding schools here?"

"Not that I know of. Most people here are Hogwarts students this time of year. You'll probably see him again," I replied. "What did you name her?"

"Sylvana. I think she likes it," she said.

"We'll see how much she likes me."

~Amanda POV~

When September 1st came, Grandpa drove us to King's Cross and Armin already knew where to go. We got to 9 3/4 and loaded everything onto the train. As we were walking down the hall looking for an empty compartment, I happened to see a calico cat through one of the windows. I peered in and inside was the freckled boy.

"Hey, aren't you from the pet shop?" I asked. He looked up and his eyes brightened.

"Oh? It's you!" he said with a smile. I smiled back.

"I'm Amanda. I forgot to introduce myself." I stepped in and sat down across from him, as did Armin.

"Theo. Did you name her yet?"

"Yes, I did. Her name is Sylvana," I replied. He picked up his own cat and placed it next to him.

"This one is Amber. And, you are...?" he asked and looked at Armin.

"Armin. I'm her brother and this is Alba," he replied and opened her cage to give his owl a treat.

"Nice to meet you. That's a lovely ring you've got there," Theo said and pointed at my finger. "You're hoping for Slytherin, aren't you."

"Of course. I don't belong anywhere else."

"I'm likely to get into Slytherin too. I'm the first pure-blood in my family for generations. Most pure-bloods go there, but no one really cares about blood purity anymore."

"Most of the time," Armin replied, his eyes now focused on the wand book. "There's this family you might want to avoid."

"Who?"

"The Jaegers. They're a household of both parents and three kids. All of them attend here and both of the parents are teachers," he explained. "Most of the family seem decent, but their son in Gryffindor was quite a pain last year. His name is Eren. The dad teaches DA and he's very strict. Took 20 points from me on my first day."

"Are they blood purists?" Theo asked.

"I don't know. The son did go off about how he was pure for quite a while in the boats, but he couldn't be a purist. His sister isn't a pure-blood, as she's adopted."

"Well, thanks for the heads up," Theo replied.

"No problem. Get comfortable though. We're in for a long ride," he said and picked up his belongings. "I'm going to look for my friends. I'll see you at the sorting."  
  


Eventually, we arrived at Hogwarts and the first years were led to the boats while everyone else went in carriages. Theo and I stuck together and got into a boat with one other girl. She was resting her arm on the edge of the boat and looking down.

"Hey," she said. Her voice was slightly breathy as if she was nervous.

"Hi," Theo replied.

"Scared about something?" I asked in a calmer voice than usual. She turned to us with a confused look. She didn't seem anxious at all.

"Oh, no. I'm fine. I'm just wondering what house I'll be in. I don't really know what I want to get," she replied with a firmer and clear voice.

"It's not uncommon to get the same house as family members. Do you know what the house history of your family is?" Theo asked.

"I have a cousin in Slytherin, but we're not really alike." She turned her body around to face us. "What are your names?"

"Amanda Arlert. I'm hoping for Slytherin."

"Theo Foster. I'm also wanting Slytherin."

"Theo as in Theodore?" The girl asked and tilted her head. He leaned back in the boat and rolled his eyes, sighing.

"No, my full name is Theon. I get that Theodore thing a lot," he said in a sulking voice.

"I'm Gabi Braun. I'm particularly interested in magical creatures. It's a shame you can only take it as an elective," she replied.

We soon got to the school and the teacher who introduced himself as Uri Reiss, the Transfiguration teacher. We were led into the Great Hall and I spotted Armin with Connie and he waved at me. I waved back and the ceremony took place.

"Arlert, Amanda." I was the first one up. I fixed my glasses on my head and took a deep breath before stepping up. I looked at the Slytherin table and waited for my placement.

"SLYTHERIN!" A big smile took over my face and the other Slytherins cheered. I ran down to the Slytherin table where everyone immediately greeted me.

"Welcome to Slytherin!" The prefect said. My ring turned purple for happiness.

"Thank you! I'm happy to be here," I replied. The Ravenclaw table was right next to Slytherin, so I was able to get a hug and congratulations from Armin.

"Braun, Gabi."

"Hmm... A tough one indeed," The Sorting Hat spoke as if it was unsure where to place her. "Full of courage, yet a burning desire to learn. Better be... RAVENCLAW!" Gabi closed her eyes and nodded her head with a small smile. She seemed content with her placement.

"Foster, Theon." Theo walked up and I anxiously straightened up to see him.

"SLYTHERIN!" I cheered with the rest of the table as he came to join us. We were both happy to be in the same house. Other students were placed in different houses and the ceremony ended with two flashy girls.

"Rao, Nisha."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Songal, Bailey."

"SLYTHERIN!"

 


	8. Welcome to Slytherin

~Amanda POV~

As the feast went on, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly Theo was talking about when he said 'pure-blood' on the train, so I asked him.

"Pure-bloods are families that consist of almost all wizards and witches, or all wizards and witches. In my case, my family had been all half-bloods until I was born. Half-bloods tie back to muggles in more recent generations or even have a muggle parent," he explained.

"My mum had both muggle parents..." I murmured.

"That's a possibility too. Muggle-borns, witches and wizards born from muggles," he replied. I picked up a green pear from one of the plates and took a bite.

"That makes me a half-blood then?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Why aren't muggle-borns described as 'blood' or something?" I asked. He paused.

"Well, there is a word for them, but it's very vulgar and offensive."

"What is it?"

"Mudblood," he whispered. "It describes them as having filthy blood and no right to be a witch or wizard. It got really bad before the Battle of Hogwarts. The ministry claimed that it was impossible to have magical ability without any wizarding background. If they couldn't prove they had a witch or wizard in their ancestry, they were... Tortured to put it lightly," he explained and slowly resumed eating. I also ate slowly and thought about the torment my mum could have suffered.

"That's horrible..." I whispered.

"Thankfully, it stopped, but there are still people who support the torment, the blood purists," he said.

"Yeah..." I replied. We finished up the feast and we were led to the dungeons where the Slytherins stayed.

"Welcome to Slytherin. We may be a very isolated house, but together, we make one of the closest and most unified houses in Hogwarts," The prefect said. "To get into the common room, we have a password that changes every year." He turned to the wall. "Niffler," he said and the path revealed itself.

"What's a Niffler?" I asked. 50% of the students turned to me. The prefect looked at me awkwardly and approached me.

"Um... Do you have close muggle relatives?" he asked. I nodded my head and another student snorted. "Who was that!" he shouted and turned around. One of the flashy girls, wearing a silver heart locket with a diamond in the centre and dark skin, raised her hand.

She was still smiling and looked at the other one with fiery red hair, who joined her in laughing. "And who might you be?" She blinked and raised her eyebrows as if we should know who she is.

"Rao. My parents work with the ministry. I thought you knew," she said. The prefect crossed his arms.

"Yes, I was told we would be getting a transfer student from India. That doesn't mean anything here. No one cares how powerful your parents are. Your actions reflect on you and I'm not fond of that laugh you let out," he said. "Us Slytherins have been stereotyped for generations. Up until recently, pure-bloods were taught to hate muggles and everything with them. We're trying to break that stereotype of us being nothing but mean blood purists. If I hear anything about this blood purity rubbish, you'll be given a one-way ticket to the headmaster and given detention, is that clear?" He looked around at all of us.

"Yes," we all replied. He turned back to me.

"Sorry about that. I'm Liddle. A Niffler is a small creature that hunts down for shiny things to keep. If you ever need help, come to me," he said. I nodded my head and he went back to the front. "This is our common room."

"Dormitories are separated by year and obviously, girls and boys separate. Classes start tomorrow, so please get some sleep. To your dormitories," he said and directed us to the rooms. I went into one of the girls rooms and the flashy girls were already there.

"Oh, it's you," Rao said and rolled her eyes. I looked at the girl with fiery hair and looked at her robes. Her robes had the Hogwarts crest embroidered on and small roses embroidered on her sleeves and next to the crest.

"I didn't know they sold robes like that at Madam Malkin's," I said. She turned around and had a small money pouch with a coat of arms that had a white rose with a stem in an _S_ shape with a line that looked like a thorn going through it.

"They don't," she replied and raised her eyebrows. "Don't you know who I am?"

"No."

"I'm Bailey Songal. My mum runs the Songal clothing company. These were custom made to fit my desires." She put her arms out to show every part of her robes. She also showed off all the jewellery she had. She had large emerald earrings and a golden bracelet with diamonds.

"The better question is why aren't you in Hufflepuff?" Rao scoffed and put her hand on her hip.

"Why should I be in Hufflepuff?" I asked.

"Well, you're not smart like a Ravenclaw. You couldn't possibly be brave and in Gryffindor. And us Slytherins-"

"I know the traits of the other houses are. You don't even know me or what my personality is," I replied. She straightened her posture and flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

"And all the mudbloods go to Hufflepuff." I dropped my jaw and stared at her.

"Excuse me!"

"Only the _pure_ are welcome into Slytherin," Songal spoke up.

"Okay, let's stop this." One of the other girls stepped between us. "You heard what Liddle said. We are unified in Slytherin. I don't think we should argue."

"Fine, I guess you can join the mudblood and transfer to Hufflepuff," Rao replied.  
  


\----------------

 ** _The characters Nisha Rao and Bailey Songal not made by me. They belong to_** ** _[Spitty-Screech](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Spitty-Screech)_** .

 


	9. Quidditch...?

~Amanda POV~

Lessons started the next day. I ignored Rao and Songal for the most part, but I couldn't ignore them staring at me for the entirety of charms.

"WELCOME!" Professor Ackerman wasn't holding back his excitement. "I don't know if you've been told, but I am head of Slytherin house. If any Slytherins need help, I'm always open. Today! I will be giving you your first charms lesson." Theo snapped and pointed his fingers at me, making a sarcastic flirty face.

"Hey~" I started laughing, as did other students who saw.

"Yes! That's the spirit, Foster! One point to Slytherin just for that and another because I like you," Ackerman announced and Theo started laughing as well. "Today, we'll be learning _Lumos._ The wand lighting charm. Simply say _Lumos!_ And your wand should light up," Ackerman explained. "Wands at the ready?" We all picked up our wands. "Begin!"

 _"Lumos!"_ Students started at different times and several flicked their wands violently.

 _"Lumos!"_ Theo held his wand and it lit up on the first try. I loosened my grip and looked at his wand.

"Well done! 5 points to Slytherin!" Ackerman announced.

"Now what do I do?" Theo asked.

"Say Nox to turn it off."

 _"Nox."_ The light from his wand went away and he smiled. _"Lumos, Nox. Lumos, Nox. Lumos, Nox."_ The same two words kept repeating and I stared at him, gripping my wand so tightly, my hand shook. My ring slowly turned dark bloody red and Theo eventually saw. "Uh... Do you need help?"

"What does it look like!" My ring turned pink and I leaned back.

"Okay, first you're holding it wrong." He grabbed my wrist and my ring turned to an even darker pink. Pink meant embarrassment, he could tell I was flustered by my ring. "Your hand needs to be sideways." He turned my wrist so the back of my hand was facing him. "You have more articulation in your wrist like this as opposed to holding it underhandedly like you were before." He adjusted my elbow and shoulder then let go of me. "Now try it."

 _"Lumos!"_ My wand finally lit up and Theo smiled.

"You got it!" he said with a smile. I smiled back. On the other side of the room, Rao and Songal were looking at me with rage in their eyes.

"Have you tried spells before?"

"No, I think it's my wand. I read at Ollivanders that Black Walnut is good for charms," he replied.

"My wand is Walnut."

"Black Walnut and Walnut are different," he replied. "You can turn it off, you know." I looked back at my wand and blushed a little.

 _"Nox,"_ I said and the light went away. "Isn't that just a philosophy, though? I'm pretty sure I saw that in my brother's book on the train."

"It might be a little true. It seems a little too coincidental that I got it on the first try," he replied.

"Well, _Lumos_ isn't a very hard spell. My brother said he learned _Wingardium Leviosa_ on his first day. That spell has a specific hand movement and if you mispronounce it, it could end badly," I said. 

~Armin POV~

Later that day in lunch, Amanda was in the Great Hall with Theo and Gabi practising charms at the Slytherin table. I noticed Jaeger was walking over to them, so I went to grab him.

"Can you guys stop? We can-" I grabbed him by the shirt and took him over to the other side of the table.

"Look, I don't care what the bloody hell you do to me. _Don't touch my sister!"_ I said edging to his face.

"What's happening over here?" His dad had to see us at the worst possible time. I still didn't let go of him.

"I was just going to ask those first years to quiet down, but he grabbed me," Jaeger said.

"And why would you do that to my son?" The professor asked.

"Your son spent all of his free time harassing me last year and I don't want him to do anything to my sister," I replied still holding onto him.

"20 points from Ravenclaw," he said. "I'll give you detention if you don't let go of my son." I finally released him and walked over to Amanda and her friends.

"Did you see that?" I asked.

"I saw you cost Ravenclaw 20 points!" Gabi replied annoyed.

"Those were the people I warned you about. Professor Jaeger and his son. He takes double the points any of the other teachers usually take. I can't say how many he takes from Slytherin because he is one and is obviously biased," I replied.

"Was that worth 20 points?" Gabi asked.

"Hey, I'm trying to protect you guys. His son spent the entire year harassing me last year and he didn't do anything about it. I don't want him to do the same to you," I replied. "Once you have a class with him, you'll see how unfair he is. Trust me, he threatened detention back there and I don't think it would have been just scrubbing cauldrons for an hour." Gabi didn't reply. "Just keep practising. It'll pay off in the end," I said and got up.

Weeks passed and everything was the same as last year. Go to class, study with Connie, get tripped by Jaeger, the usual. One day when Connie and I were discussing plans to meet up, we saw a rat run down the hall and a silver cat was chasing it.

"Was that Sasha's rat?" Connie asked.

"I know for a fact that's my sister's cat," I said and sure enough, Sasha and Amanda came running down the halls chasing after their pets.

"No! Don't hurt my rat!"

"Sylvana! Get back here!" Amanda shouted and her robes flew like a cape behind her. Connie looked at me. I shrugged then started running after them. Connie soon followed and we ran for a little while.

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ A Ravenclaw student in the hallway cast a spell.

"NO!" Amanda's voice echoed through the school and she dove for her cat. We soon caught up to them and we saw that Amanda had Sylvana and Sasha was able to get Wedge. "Take the curse off of her!" Amanda demanded and looked at the student.

 _"Finite Incantatem."_ She lifted the curse and Sylvana started moving again. Amanda pulled her under her robe and cradled the cat that was now shaking with fear. Two older Slytherin students were standing by and laughing.

"Why would you do that!" she demanded as she stroked her cat's head gently.

"You guys weren't going to catch up to them and if I used it on the rat, then your cat would have eaten it," she replied.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm taking my cat to my bed," Amanda said an turned her heel.

"Mind if I Slytherin?" One of the older students asked and chuckled. I went into immediate older-brother-mode and tackled the other student.

"What the bloody hell did you just say to my sister!" I asked once he was in the ground. He was a blonde student with small hazel eyes. He was much taller than me, but I held him down from all of my anger.

"That blonde Slytherin is your sister?" he asked.

"Who are you!" I demanded.

"Braun. I'm the Slytherin beater," he replied.

"You're not the _only_ beater, Reiner," The other Slytherin student replied.

"Don't you have a cousin named Gabi in Ravenclaw?" Amanda asked. I turned my head and saw she now had her hood up and was clearly uncomfortable.

"Amanda! Stay. Back," I said and turned back to Braun.

"Amanda, huh? Adorable name," he said. I heard Amanda gag behind me and I also gagged.

"You're disgusting!" I yelled. "What year are you in?"

"I'm a third year."

"Oh my god!" Amanda shouted and sounded like she was going to throw up. I jumped away from him and pulled Amanda into my arms.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah." She still sounded sick. "I'm going to go to the dorms now..." I nodded my head and made sure Braun didn't follow her.

"What's your problem? A guy can't say a girl is pretty?"

"Okay!" I grabbed his robe. "I'm taking you to your head of house," I said.

"Oh, let me go with you!" The girl who cursed Amanda's cat said. She grabbed the other side of him and helped me take him to Ackerman. Once we were at his office, I let go of him to close the door.

"Professor Ackerman!" I turned to the teacher. "This pervert just hit on my sister!"

"It was just one sentence!" Braun said in defence.

"What's the problem?" The professor asked.

"My sister... Is 11," I said. "And this git said _Mind if I Slytherin?_ after she said she would be taking her cat to her bed."

"It's just a 2 year age gap." I widened my eyes, not believing he had the nerve to say that.

"Blimey! You made a borderline sexual innuendo to an 11-year-old girl!" The Ravenclaw student replied. "I wouldn't trust you as a prefect."

"I think he needs detention so he knows to stay away from her," I said. Ackerman sighed.

"Well, I can't give him detention now, but I agree that was absolutely disgusting. If I hear about this again, I will give you detention. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Braun replied and left. I left with the other Ravenclaw student.

"That was a really good tackle back there," she said.

"Oh? Thanks... I guess."

"Have you considered trying out for the Quidditch team?"

"Uh... I don't know..."

"I'm Zoe. One of the chasers. If you make it onto the team you'll be calling me Hanji though," she said.

"Does that have to do with the beater thing Braun was talking about?"

"Yes. That's another role in Quidditch."

"I- I don't even know what that means," I replied.

"Tryouts are next week. We can explain everything to you then and you'll have time to practice. The first game is always the most popular, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. We don't have a game until December. You'll have time to practice."

"Okay... I'll think about it."

 


	10. Quidditch Tryouts

~Armin POV~

"You want me to go to tryouts with you!" I told Connie about Quidditch and asked him to go with me. He wasn't fond of the idea.

"Come on, I don't want to do it alone. Besides, Hanji said three players graduated last year, including the seeker," I replied.

"You think I'd be a good seeker?" he asked laughing a little. "Do you even know what that is?"

"No... She made it sound like an important role..."

"It _is_ an important role! The most important, in fact," he replied.

"Please! I can't go there all by myself. What if I fail?"

"Armin, you were one of the best in flying last year. You think _you're_ going to fail?"

" _You_ were the first one to get control over your broom."

"It also hit me in the face when I said 'Up!' for the first time and yours just flew up into your hand."

"Connie!" I shouted. "I'm scared! I want to do something impressive for once and I can't do it alone," I said. "Please?" He went silent for a moment.

"...Okay, I'll go with you, but don't go encouraging them. I can't go begging my mum for a broom all of a sudden," he said. I sighed in relief.

"Thank you."  
  
  


The week passed and it was time for tryouts. A few other Ravenclaw students including Reiss went for the tryouts too.

"Welcome! Welcome!" Hanji greeted everyone once we were in the Quidditch robes and had a broom. "I see many of you are second year's so, let me explain what Quidditch is.

"Quidditch is a sport that has been played by Hogwarts students for centuries. In each team, there are seven players, two of whom are beaters. Zeke here is one of them." She gestured to Zeke. "The beater's job is to knock the opposing team's players off their brooms. They do this by using their bat to hit the Bludgers." She opened a box and pointed at the three balls the size of a baseball in the corner. "They may look small, but they're fierce! You, what's your name?" She pointed to Connie.

"Springer," he replied. Hanji waved her hand.

"Come," she said. Connie walked over to her and she dropped one of the bludgers in his hands. He almost fell to the ground with it. "See what I mean?" Connie nodded his head an gave the ball back to her.

"Next, there are three chasers. Our job is to get the Quaffle and throw it into the hoops." She turned around and pointed to the hoops. "This is the quaffle." She picked up the largest ball and showed it to us. "Each time the quaffle gets thrown into a hoop, the team earns 10 points. Right now we have Rico and me as chasers. Our other one graduated last year."

"Then there is one Keeper. Their job is to defend the hoops from the opposing team. They oftentimes get hurt the most so they wear protective clothing over the robes." Zeke pushed a dummy with a leather vest and helmet.

"And lastly... There's the Seeker," Hanji said. "The seeker is the most crucial member of the team. Their job is to find and catch this." She took the smallest golden ball from the box and it sprouted wings and began to flap them vigorously. "The Golden Snitch. The team that catches the snitch gets 150 points and ends the game. The team with the most points wins."

"So! Who wants to try out for a Keeper?" Rico asked. Nobody seemed interested.

"I'll... I'll go..." I said.

"Great! Let's get this vest on you," Hanji said and picked up the vest. They fitted it on me and I put the helmet on my head.

"Mount your broom."

"Up!"

"Best of luck," Hanji said and mounted her broom. I flew up into the air and the Quaffle was released. I had both Hanji and Rico against me but I tried my best. I managed to block the quaffle 3 times out of 5. I probably could have done better if I didn't have to avoid the Bludgers too. "That was really good Armin!" Hanji said to me as I took off the helmet.

"Thanks..." I said. I didn't think I was that good. Most of my attempts were very clumsy and I knew that the last one was better.

"Okay, Chasers!" Rico announced. Reiss volunteered to go, but Rico hesitated. "Actually... I'll wait on you. I want to test you for the Seeker," she said. "Springer!" She shouted. Connie raised his head surprised. "You're up!"

"Wh- Wait! I-"

"Armin, you're our new Keeper. You'll continue defending the hoops for the Chaser tryouts. Springer, mount your broom," she said. I put the helmet back on.

"Sorry, mate," I said. He sighed but mounted his broom. I managed to block most of his throws, but it was obvious he wasn't trying. Rico sighed and moved to Reiss.

"Okay, we'll release the practice snitch. Historia, right?" She nodded her head. "Best of luck," Rico said and released the snitch. Historia mounted her broom and began to look for the snitch. We were still up in the air doing our jobs and Zeke was still with his bat and the Bludgers. Historia did eventually find the snitch, but as she lifted one hand to grab it, she didn't notice the Bludger coming towards her and nearly fell off her broom. Rico blew her whistle and called for a pause.

"Are you okay?" Zeke asked as we all approached her. She managed to stay on her broom but she fell pretty far down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"Okay, maybe Seeker isn't for you. Let's try Chaser," Rico said. She nodded her head and we put the snitch away. Historia performed a lot better than Connie did. She scored 4 times out of 5 even with my best efforts. Everyone else tried out for different roles, leaving Connie, who didn't volunteer.

"Are you sure you don't want to be on the team?" I asked. "It's actually really fun."

"You still haven't tried for Seeker," Rico said. Connie sighed.

"Come on, at least try to have fun?" I asked.

"Fine," he replied. When he gave effort, he was amazing at Quidditch. He was completely aware of his surroundings and dodged all of the Bludgers sent his way. He kept going at it and eventually, he got the snitch.

"Springer!" Rico flew over to him with a big smile. "That was amazing! You're a natural!" I also flew over to him.

"It was fun, right?" I asked.

"Yeah... But I don't have a decent broom," he replied.

"My sister is on the Slytherin team and she's a Seeker. She rides a Nimbus 2001. Do any of you need help with payments?" Zeke asked.

"I don't need anything fancy... I could do with this one," I replied.

"No, you can't. All of the other players on the other teams have their own," Rico said.

"I can't really afford much..." I said.

"The least you can get is a Cleansweep. I'll help with payments if needed, but I can't go begging my dad for three brooms," Zeke replied.

"I can get one myself. It shouldn't be a problem," Historia said.

"My family can afford it but it would be a big problem. We can't just buy a broom whenever we feel like it," Connie said.

"You're the Seeker. You need to be fast. At the very least you'll need a Nimbus 2000. You'll be slower than my sister but speed doesn't mean anything if you don't have skill," Zeke replied.

"My family's budget is _very_ low," I said.

"What's your annual income?" Zeke asked.

"Galleons or pounds?"

"Galleons."

"None," I said.

"What?"

"I live with my muggle Grandpa. My parents died when I was 8 and we weren't a high-class family," I said.

"Well, I'll do the best I can to help you guys out," he replied. "In the meantime, welcome to the Quidditch team."

 


	11. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

~Armin POV~

Quidditch season didn't start until November. Before the first game, the duelling club opened and allowed all students second year and older. Connie and Sasha joined me to see what it was like. Of course, Jaeger was also in the club which was run by his dad. Ther teachers were there including Professor Reiss.

"Anyone want to volunteer?" he asked. No one raised their hand. "Arlert," He called my name. "Why don't you duel my son," he said. I sighed but drew my wand and went to the stage. Jaeger also walked up with his signature smug look.

"Hey, Arlert. Why don't you tell us what your wand core is," he said when he was on.

"It's unicorn hair," I replied and he laughed.

"You got the most common and weakest core possible!" He pulled out his wand. "My wand has a phoenix feather core. The broadest range of magic ability and the rarest-"

"It also acts on its own accord whereas unicorn remains loyal to the wizard and is less likely to have blockages," I replied and gave him a smug look of my own. Other students chuckled as I destroyed his pride and readied my wand.

"Children!" The professor exclaimed. "Act like this again and you both will be given detention."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, father."

"We will be practising the disarming charm, _Expelliarmus._ Wands at the ready?" Jaeger lifted his wand. "On the count of three, you will begin." The look on his son's face was very unsettling. "One... Two... Th-"

 _"Everte Statum!"_ A sudden surge of pain was sent through my body. I bent down and Jaeger was smiling to himself. I had no memory of learning the spell, but it was painful. I picked myself up and pointed my wand.

 _"Flippendo!"_ I stepped forward and thrust my wand forward. My wand sent a beam with extreme force and knocked him back.

"Boys!" Professor Jaeger shouted. "I said we would be _disarming_ our opponent. Not using spells for the sake of pain. Both of you! Wands away!" I lowered my wand but didn't put it away until his wand went into his robe.

"Who won?" Jaeger asked.

"It's a draw. You need to learn to listen to me more," His dad replied. A few students, including myself, started laughing.

"I guarantee you we'll be winning the Quidditch game. I've been training nonstop since I've made the Beater role!" he straightened his posture and bragged.

"You're on the Quidditch team?" I asked.

"Of course! How stupid would it be to reject me when I'm clearly the best. Why do you ask? Did you miss the cut for a role?"

"No! In fact, I'm the Keeper. This stops here. I am not going to argue with you," I said and immediately left the stage. _"I'll stay if you want to duel, but if not, I'm going back to the common room,"_ I whispered to Connie and Sasha.

"I wouldn't bet on you winning, Eren." I turned to the direction of the voice and it was his sister. "Have you seen your Seeker? I was told he almost bit his tongue clean off during practice once." Some of the students laughed.

"That was years ago! You think you're going to do better than a third year?"

"You kids are so embarrassing. Club dismissed. Mikasa, Eren, you two stay behind," The professor said. "And 10 points from Ravenclaw," He added looking at me. All of the Ravenclaws groaned.

"You're not going to take any from Gryffindor or Slytherin?" Hanji jumped to my defence.

"Zoe, don't make it 20. I need to talk to my kids," The professor replied. I was the first one out the door to go back to the dormitory.

As the weather got colder, the first Quidditch game came around. It was scheduled after breakfast and the Quidditch players were already in their robes.

The Gryffindor team was acting like they ran the place if I'm honest. They clearly wanted to intimidate the other team.

On the other side, the Slytherins showed no sign of fear. They all were on the same side of the table and the captain, Levi Ackerman, was in the middle. He stood up to reach over and grab some food from a plate, which got the attention of the Gryffindor team. As he leaned back, he looked over at the other team and drew his thumb across his neck. The Braun guy that hit on Amanda was on the team and I caught him talking to her.

"Are you coming to the game?" he asked.

"Not for you," she replied grabbing a green pear.

"You eat a lot of those pears. Do you like them?" He continued to talk to her. At this point, I was already fed up with him. I stood up and walked to them and stopped behind my sister, crossing my arms. He looked up and Amanda turned around. I glanced at Theo, who also looked annoyed.

"I'm 11, so shut the fuck up," Amanda said. The guy Braun was with when we were in the hallways hit his shoulder and shook his head. Braun rolled his eyes and I returned to my seat.  
  
  


~Eren POV~

"Remember when you hated Gryffindor?" Ymir teased before we had to leave.

"Shut-up! That isn't important right now," I replied.

"Good thing we converted you. One of my ideas was to have Nearly Headless Nick open and close his head until you accepted yourself, but the ghost wasn't up for it." Nick is the Gryffindor ghost and has a small amount of "flesh" still keeping his head to his body. Every house has a ghost.

"You're going against your sister. Did your dad wish you both luck?" Jean asked.

"No. He only wished her luck," I said and rolled my eyes.

"What about your mum?"

"She's rooting for Gryffindor, but she's not choosing sides."

"Well, it's time for us to go," Erwin, our captain, said and led us outside.

 **"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season! Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. The biggest rivalry in the sport."** Professor Ackerman was the announcer.

 **"The game is on a 1-hour time limit. If no one catches the snitch before the timer is up, the team with the most points wins."** Erwin shook the other captain's hand and we mounted our brooms. ****

 **"And Slytherin is in possession! Last year, Slytherin lost to Gryffindor by a landslide. This year, both teams have new players. This game won't be the same!"** I hit the bludger coming my way and it flew to one of the chasers. ****

 **"Chaser Levi goes for the goal!"** I looked to see if a bludger was coming my way so I could throw Levi off and get some time for Ymir to block it, but I didn't have any options. **"And he scores! Slytherin takes an early lead of 10 points!"** People dressed in green and holding the Slytherin banner erupted from the crowd.

"You need to be faster, Ymir. Remember what we practised," Erwin told Ymir.

"Sorry," she replied.

 **"Gryffindor in possession. Chaser Mina is going for the goal! But it's blocked by the Slytherin Keeper Annie!"** She tossed the Quaffle to Levi then looked to the crowd and threw her fist up, encouraging them to cheer louder.

 **"Slytherin is still in the lead."** A bludger came my way and I hit it towards Levi. **"Beater Eren has sent a bludger his way."** He looked back and moved out of the way like it was nothing. **"And Levi dodges it like no problem! 56 minutes are on the clock, still no sign of the snitch. Both seekers are looking for it."** I focused on hitting the bludgers and let everyone else do their job.

 **"Chaser Erwin steals the quaffle. But it's blocked again by Annie!"** We still didn't have any points and Slytherin had 10.

"That girl is starting to get on my nerves," Jean flew down to me and mumbled.

"Then let's take care of her," I replied and flew up to her level. I waited for a bludger to come to me and I hit it to her. A loud "Oh!" Came from the crowd when it hit her.

**"Annie has taken a hit!"**

"NOW'S OUR CHANCE! GET THE QUAFFLE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs in hopes that my team would hear me. All three of our Chasers went for the quaffle and Erwin flew for the hoops when it was given to him by Ymir.

 **"Gryffindor in possession. Annie is still down but she seems to be moving. Gryffindor scores!"** I thrust my bat into the air and cheered along with the crowd. Suddenly, our Seeker, Oluo, made a sharp dive downward and Mikasa followed him.

 **"It looks like the snitch has been spotted! 43:20 is on the clock. Both teams are tied."** I anxiously searched for a bludger. If there was anything we needed now, it was to throw off Mikasa. Both Jean and I hit bludgers her way, but they missed. They were both neck and neck to each other reaching their arms out.

 **"Bludgers are on their way to the Seekers."** Oluo narrowly dodged them, but he lost some control and Mikasa went ahead. **"Something has happened to the Gryffindor Seeker!"** I hit the Bludger again before looking down to see what happened. He had his hand over his mouth and when he pulled it away, he was bleeding and his tongue was slightly out. **"It seems like he's bitten his tongue. Mikasa is still going after the snitch. 42:50 on the clock."** She came to a sudden stop and the timer stopped counting. She flew up higher and threw her hand into the air with a big smile.

 **"Mikasa caught the snitch! The game has ended and Slytherin beat Gryffindor with 160 points to 10! Slytherin has won the game!"** The Slytherins erupted in shouts and we descended back to the ground. As I looked around, I saw Arlert with his sister. She was waving a small Slytherin flag and had green and silver stripes painted on her cheeks. Her brother was cheering for Slytherin.

"I can't wait until we play Ravenclaw. I am going to destroy that face so much, even your sister won't recognize you..." I hissed under my breath.

 


	12. Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff

~Amanda POV~  
  
Slytherin's victory over Gryffindor was talked about for a while afterwards. When people started talking about the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff game, it died down. Rao and Songal became a problem over the next few months. Songal climbed to the top in Transfiguration and Rao became a favourite of Professor Jaeger's. I have more strength in potions, but with Rao being a teacher's pet, they both made sure I didn't forget they were good.

"Say, Nisha. What animal should I transfigure Arlert into?" Songal asked one time in the hallways.

"You don't need to. She already looks like one," she replied and they laughed.

"Human Transfiguration is a sixth-year lesson. We can barely turn a match into a needle," I replied and tried to walk away.

"I was the first to do it. It wasn't that hard, but I suppose a mudblood doesn't have as much ability as a pure-blood."

"I am not a muggle-born, but I don't like it when you use that word." I still felt insulted because my mum was a muggle-born and a fantastic witch.

"No one cares if you like it or not. We say whatever we want to," Rao replied.

"Remember what Liddle said? You're lucky I haven't told him about your dirty mouth. He already doesn't like you two and you already have something on your records. Now, if you'll excuse me." I pushed past them and went to potions class.

 

  
"You'll be working with the people next to you."

"Professor! Can I work with someone else? I don't want to work with Arlert," The Gryffindor student next to me shouted.

"Why? I believe she is one of the best in the class," Hannes replied.

"She's manipulative," she said. I turned to her and gave a look of confusion.

"Where did you hear that?" Theo a few tables away from me and asked.

"From another Gryffindor student."

"You should know better than to buy into petty gossip. Professor, I'll work with Amanda," Theo said. The professor shrugged.

"Very well. Switch spots with Mr Foster." Theo picked up his books and walked over to me. My ring turned to a bright grey. The colour of stress. Once the lesson began, Theo offered to get the ingredients and I opened up the book.

"Did you know about the rumours?" I asked when he came back.

"No, I would have told you if I did," he replied and put the cauldron down.

"Do you believe them?"

"Of course not. Why should I believe a Gryffindor student over you?" he asked and I sighed. "Is something wrong?"

"No... I'm fine." My ring went from grey to blue. I don't know if Theo saw it, but he rubbed my shoulder before taking out the ingredients. I sighed and straightened up to help him out. "What's your life at home like?" I asked to change the subject. 

"My mum earns money for the taxes and I usually help with most of the chores," he replied. 

"What about your dad?" He paused.

"My dad... He's been suffering a chronic illness that gets progressively worse over time. It's a recessive blood trait and I was lucky enough to be born healthy but, he recently was checked into St. Mungo's hospital and... I haven't been told how he's doing," he explained.

"I'm... I'm so sorry..." I said. He put the first ingredient into the cauldron. 

"It's fine," he said. 

  
~Armin POV~

Historia and Connie were able to get their brooms for Quidditch. Historia got a Nimbus 2001 and Connie got a Nimbus 2000. 

"We better win this. My mum said I'm not getting anything for my birthday or Christmas because of this," he grumbled at practice one day. 

"Don't worry. We're working on a plan that no one will expect," Zeke reassured. I had to rely on Zeke to help me. He offered a Nimbus but I felt so bad about using his money and I eventually convinced him to get me a Cleansweep. I kept asking for something I could do to repay him, but he insisted that it wasn't a problem. I had to give up half of my study time for Quidditch but I got a broom as a gift. I'm not about to back out of this. 

On the day of our first match, we went over our plan during breakfast to make sure we knew what we're doing. 

"Are you guys excited for the game?" We looked up and saw Sasha in Hufflepuff Quidditch robes and Connie and I blinked. 

"You're playing?" Connie asked. 

"Yeah. I didn't tell you guys?"

"No, you didn't. What's your role?" I asked. 

"I'm the Seeker." The colour from Connie's face drained. 

"So we're going to be competing against each other directly..." he mumbled. 

"We'll still be friends. I don't want to get mad over a game. Quidditch is supposed to bring houses closer together." Connie glanced at me. 

 _That's not how it works..._ Was clearly written on his face. Amanda was screaming when Gryffindor hit the Slytherin Keeper last game. I was scared for my own safety if I'm honest.

"Whatever happens today won't affect our friendship."

"Yeah... No hard feelings?" he asked and held out his hand. Sasha grabbed it and shook it with a smile.

"Good luck."

"Yeah, you too," Connie replied and sat down. Sasha returned to the Hufflepuff table and joined her teammates. Once we were done eating, we left to the field. We went over the plan one last time before stepping out to begin the game.

 

 **"Welcome back everyone! Today, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff will be playing each other. Both Seekers are new players. This puts captains Petra Ral and Rico Brzenska's judgement to the ultimate test."** We mounted our brooms after the captains shook hands.

 **"And the Quaffle is released! Ravenclaw takes possession."** Our plan was to avoid relying on the Seeker getting 150 points. Instead, we want to score at least 15 goals and defend the hoops as much as possible. I trained with Hanji twice as hard to prepare for the game. **"Chaser Historia goes for the goal and scores! Ravenclaw takes the lead!"** I saw my sister in the crowd and she cheered.

 **"Hufflepuff steals the Quaffle."** I dove after the Quaffle and caught it before it went through the hoop. **"Keeper Armin saves the goal! They've really trained their new players."** I nodded my head to Connie, giving him the signal for our next move. He dove down and Sasha followed.

 **"Seekers are on the snitch!"** Professor Ackerman announced. Only, he hadn't found the snitch yet. It was a trick to throw the other team off. The rest of the Hufflepuffs looked to find Sasha and while they were distracted, Hanji stole the Quaffle and scored. **"Ravenclaw doesn't seem interested in the snitch. They score again while the other team isn't looking!"** The game was 20 to 0 in favour of us. 

 **"Hufflepuff in possession."** One thing we forgot to consider was the speed of the other Chasers compared to me. I'm on a Cleansweep, they all have a Nimbus. **"Chaser Petra scores 10 points for Hufflepuff!"** They were also all 3rd years. **"Steal from Hufflepuff Chaser Hitch."** I tried to make it to the goal, but they were to fast. 

**"40 minutes on the clock."**

"Armin!" Rico flew down to me. I rubbed my eyes and forehead. I was sweating from being in the sun and my heavy gear didn't help that. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..."

"It's 50 to 60. They're in the lead," she said. I shook myself awake and looked at her. "It's not your fault. You just need a faster broom. Plan B is in action. Connie is focused on the snitch." She flew away and I refocused on the game. 

 **"Hufflepuff is in the lead. The snitch could change everything for the teams."** Sasha made a sharp turn and Connie followed. **"The snitch has been spotted!"** I focused on defending the hoops. We needed as many points as we could get. Finally, the clock stopped and we looked at the scoreboard. 

 **"The snitch has been caught by the Ravenclaw Seeker Connie! The final score is 200 to 60! Ravenclaw wins!"** Connie flew up higher to show the crowd the snitch in his hand. The Ravenclaws cheered and roared for our victory. We eventually left the field and into the broom closet. 

"You all played well," Rico said. "It was a close call. Armin, I don't want you to feel bad, but you need a better broom."

"Maybe we can get one in the future. If I can dig up an old broom at home, I'll let you know. We might have a Nimbus in the basement," Zeke said. 

"Connie, I am so proud of you. You did a great job." Connie scratched the back of his neck. 

"It wasn't much..." he mumbled. 

"No, you were amazing. But the next game is against Slytherin. They're very cut-throat and aren't afraid to risk penalties to win. We're going to be training every other night now. We're going to win this."

"Understood!" we replied.

 


	13. Quidditch Finals

~Amanda POV~

Quidditch was still a big subject in the halls. The next game was Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin. I'd have to choose between my brother and my house. I didn't think about who I would cheer for much. There were more important things to worry about. A few days before the game, I was walking with Theo to the Slytherin table and was about to sit down at the edge, but I hadn't noticed two particular people nearby.

"You can't sit near us." It was Songal and Rao. I stepped up and moved back.

"You're right. Spending too much time around idiots would be dangerous to my health," I said and walked down the table. I stopped in the middle to grab one of the pears that I always eat, then continued down the table. I stopped right at the edge, the farthest away from them as possible. Theo followed me and sat down.

"Are they always like that?" he asked.

"No," I replied. It wasn't entirely a lie. Usually, they're a lot worse. Like calling me mudblood as if it's my name. The daily post soon came in and owls flew everywhere around the Great Hall. One owl came to us and dropped a letter in front of Theo. He hastily opened the letter and read it over quietly. I looked at him, but respected his privacy and didn't read the letter. When he finished, he silently put it back in the envelope and into his pocket. "What is it?"

"They're saying he has a year to live," he mumbled. He was talking about his dad. "I'm sorry. I have to write back." He grabbed some food quickly and ran down the hall back to the dungeons. I let him go on his own. I figured he wanted to be alone. I knew how he felt. In the months leading up to my parents' deaths, it was nothing but uncertainty and worry. The only difference, he was making an effort to use the remaining year as much as he could. From that point on, he came to the Great Hall every day with parchment and a quill to write to his dad.

Eventually, the Quidditch game came and I noticed his mood lightened up a little.

"Do you think I'll make Armin mad if I cheer for Slytherin?"

"Screw your brother's feelings! Root for your house!" Theo insisted. We took a seat with the rest of the Slytherins and we were forced to sit close to Songal and Rao.

"Did you see their Keeper last game?" Songal snorted. She knew I was near.

"They thought they could defend the hoops with a Cleansweep," Rao mocked.

"And now look at them. They have the stupidity to march onto the field and play Slytherin with that thing!" They laughed and Rao made the mistake of trying to look at me. She ultimately gave away that they were trying to make me feel bad.

"Actually, if you two weren't so stupid and blind, you could see that he has a Nimbus 2000," Theo huffed. They looked to the field and sure enough, he was on a Nimbus.

"Are you saying you want Ravenclaw to win?" Songal questioned.

"I'm saying you two are pinheads," he hissed without even looking at them. That was the second time he jumped to my defence without being asked to do so.

 _He doesn't have to..._ I thought. For a while, I just contemplated. I have two girls that harass me that I'm forced to live with, people in other houses think I'm manipulative and say it like it's a fact, and it never stops. I came to a sudden realization that the bullying from muggle schools was still following me here.

"Amanda." I jumped. "The game has started."

 **"Slytherin in possession."** My eyes followed the Quaffle and occasionally went to the scoreboard. Throughout the game, Slytherin made many fouls, mostly haversacks. The Chasers kept their hand on the Quaffle as it went through the hoop. The Quaffle has to be thrown. As a result, Ravenclaw was given the Quaffle.

"Just throw the damn thing! What have you been training to do!" I shouted angerly. The cheers and boos drowned out the announcements. About 20 minutes into the game, Ravenclaw caught the snitch. It was another victory for them.   
  
  


~Eren POV~

We claimed victory over Hufflepuff later on in March, putting them in dead last. May was our game against Ravenclaw, who was currently in the lead, having won against Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

"This is it," Erwin croaked. Looking at the new team's record, we didn't have much confidence. "Olou, our only hope to win the cup is if we score 70 points before catching the snitch."

"The Ravenclaws know what the circumstances are. They're going to try and take an early win," Ymir stated.

"You convinced your girlfriend to let you in on their plan?" I asked and she blushed.

"Historia is not my girlfriend!" she snapped. "And they didn't tell me their plan, but let's be real here. They know what we have to do to win. Do you think they'll let the game carry on long enough for us to get that many points?"

"If we lose, we finish in 3rd place. What would my father say about that?" I sulked.

"Look, maybe we should make a plan," Mina advised. "The Seeker is the one who could determine our game and the Keeper is the thing that gets in the way of us scoring the points we need to win," she said. "There are two Beaters and two Bludgers, why don't we focus on throwing them off?" We were silent for a moment.

"That... Might give us a chance," Erwin replied.

"Come on! We are completely capable of winning."

"Yeah! Let's show Ravenclaw who's boss!" Jean cheered. We stepped onto the field in a better mood and hope for our team.

"Arlert is mine to destroy. You focus on the Seeker," I whispered to Jean as Erwin shook hands with the other captain.

"Alright."

 **"The final game of the season everyone! Ravenclaw has been playing very well and has won all their games thus far. Gryffindor lost to Slytherin in November but recently claimed victory over Hufflepuff. They need to score at least 70 points and catch the snitch to win the cup."** We mounted our brooms and I got a good look at Arlert's Nimbus. It was my old one that went missing before their game against Slytherin. I locked eyes with him and gave him the darkest death glare possible. I was about to mess him up.

 **"The Quaffle is released!"** As soon as I saw a Bludger come my way, I hit it to Arlert, but he dodged it. **"Keeper Armin has come a long way since his first game. The Ravenclaws have trained their new players hard for this game. They want that Quidditch Cup!"** I focused entirely on Arlert. He seemed to know what we had planned. When his teammates had the Quaffle, he watched me. He knew I was onto him.

 **"Chaser Mina goes for the goal!"** I hit a Bludger his way. He barely dodged it. He held tightly to the Quaffle and spun around a few times before regaining control.

"Must you _always_ be such a _prat_!" I cursed and tried to hit him again.

 **"Ravenclaw Seeker Connie has spotted the snitch!"** A single blue dot in the distance was chasing a golden sparkle. We had zero points. _Zero._ We played for 5 minutes and they were already on the snitch. Both Jean and I hit Bludgers to the Seeker. They missed.

That was it. I really didn't have hope in winning anymore. As the Bludger came back to me, I hit it to Arlert and managed to get his shoulder. He dropped a few yards and winced, putting his hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and I sneered. A few moments later, Springer caught the snitch and won the final game.

 **"Connie has caught the snitch again! That's 3 for 3 this season! Ravenclaw has won the game and claimed the Quidditch Cup!"** Ravenclaws from the audience shouted and cheered. They threw a celebration right there on the spot. I met eyes with my dad and he had his familiar face of disappointment. I broke eye contact and flew over to Arlert.

"You have something of mine," I spat. "I'd like it back."

"What's wrong with the one you've got?" he questioned.

"My problem is you have one of my brooms. I never gave it to you."

"I did, Eren," Zeke intervened.

"First the Cleansweep then _my_ Nimbus?"

"You have a bloody Firebolt! Quit being such a baby!"

"If that git was just a little slower, one of my Bludgers would have hit him and we could have won," I hissed.

"Yeah, but we thought things through unlike you guys," Arlert replied.

"Where's your Cleansweep? Did you give it to your sister?" I asked.

"I might. She wants to play Quidditch next year." I started to laugh.

"Really? She thinks she can play?" I provoked. "Tell her that she should spare the trouble. She'll only end up looking like a _reptile_ when I'm done with her!"

"YOU-!" Arlert leapt towards me and I jumped back. Zeke grabbed him before he touched me, but I wasn't amused. I punched him in the face and he started bleeding. Despite that, he still looked at me. _"Don't you_ ** _ever_** _speak of my sister like that again!"_ he hissed through his teeth. Professors ran up to us and my mum pulled me back.

"Eren! What is all this?" She asked in a panic.

"Your son just called my sister a reptile!" Arlert cursed. If he had his wand, he would have destroyed the entire school to kill me.

"Arlert... You're bleeding," she murmured. He spat out more blood in his mouth onto the ground.

"I know," he growled still looking at me.

"20 points and detention, both of you," My mum retorted. "The Care of Magical Creatures professor has a job for you. He wanted some students to help him look into the Forbidden Forest for any signs of the spiders."

"Fine. At least it's not your precious Mikasa you're sending into the forest of monsters," I muttered and shook her hand off my shoulder.

 


	14. The Forbidden Forest

~Theo POV~

After that letter in January, I started writing to my dad daily. I went home for the Easter holiday and spent almost all of the break with him. It's strange, to be honest. It's when someone is about to die you start cherishing every second with them. Little things like talking about breakfast mean so much more now. We spent most of that break in the master bedroom and he read to me like he did when I was younger. It made him so happy to do so. Going back to Hogwarts, I felt so bad. All I want is for my dad to be happy for the remaining year.

"Foster!" Even at school, I still thought of my dad. I was lost in my thoughts when I ran into Songal and Rao.

"What do you want?" I huffed. Those two girls were really annoying. Constantly, Songal is trying to show off to me. She always adjusts her clothes so her jewellery is showing.

"You should avoid Arlert. She's not who she says she is."

"She's actually faking her insecurities. Deep down, she thinks she's better than everyone else," Songal claimed. I crossed my arms and leaned back.

"You two..." I started. "Are terrible liars."

"We're not lying-"

"It's very obvious that you staged that. You made it sound way too dramatic and your eyes are going everywhere," I added.

"Excuse me, but do you live with her?" Rao questioned.

"Excuse _me!_ But have you had a conversation with her!" I shouted back. "Amanda is a bright girl with a future bigger than both of yours combined. I don't know what you thought was going to happen when you decided to tell stupid lies to her best friend. But mark my words, nobody likes an arrogant arsehole and you both just proved to this entire hallway that you are exactly that!" I pushed past them and found Amanda in the dungeons.

"Hey, Theo."

"Amanda," I put my bag down and approached her. "Songal and Rao spread the rumours."

"What?" she asked. I sat down on the sofa and she made room for me.

"They were trying to get to me, but they're terrible at lying," I explained. "Are they doing anything else I'm not aware of?" She averted her eyes and leaned back.

"Um..." I didn't like her hesitation. "I... Don't tell anyone," she started. "They've pretty much renamed me mudblood."

"What!" I looked at her in disbelief, but she looked back at me with a serious face.

"It's been going on since day 1," she admitted. I sighed.

"Look, I won't say anything, but you have to promise me you will," I said. She shrugged.

"I just don't want it to get worse..."

"If it does, then they'll be punished," I pushed. She sighed.

"I'll think about it."

~Eren POV~

We prepared to go into the Forbidden Forest in late May. Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher is Professor Ness. He always wears a bandanna on his head because of a Hippogriff he has as a pet. Hippogriffs are creatures that are basically giant birds with horse legs in the back and large taloned chicken legs in the front. His Hippogriff apparently bites off his hair a lot and he covers it up.

"Now, I trust you two won't hurt each other. Usually, wands are confiscated during detention, but I need you two to be able to send up flares if there's an emergency. If I hear about any of you attacking the other, you'll end up with more detention, so please behave," he stated before we entered. "You will be taking the left path. I'll be on the right."

"You're going to leave us unsupervised?" I questioned.

"I expect you to be mature students tonight. Nothing less."

"Jaeger, let's just get this over with," Arlert mumbled and took the lantern. We separated from the teacher and went down the path. We both drew our wands and went deeper into the forest.

"...What are we looking for again?"

"Honestly, how thick are you?" he pouted and sighed. "We're looking for the Acromantula."

"The what?"

"Giant spiders," he summarized.

"Mum said we would be looking for just spiders. She never said anything about giant ones."

"If they wanted to find regular spiders, they wouldn't have us walk in the forest. Amanda tells me there's plenty of spiders in certain places of the dungeons. No, these spiders have a valuable venom, but that's the only logical explanation to go looking for them."

"How big are they?"

"About the size of a cat."

"So not that ba-"

"That's just the babies," he interrupted. I looked at him and he was still holding the lantern up and looking at the path. "Adults are the size of, if not, bigger than the Quidditch hoops. Females are also larger."

"What the hell are we supposed to do if we run into them?" I gulped. He shrugged.

"Run?" he suggested. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Great..." We continued down the path and went deeper into the woods. The trees gradually thickened and so did the fog. "It's bloody cold. Why are we doing this an hour before curfew?"

"To make us suffer," he replied. I wrapped myself in my cloak and shivered.

"Aren't you cold? You're quite skinny," I said. He stopped and looked at me, confused.

"Thanks...?" he mumbled and started walking again, only to almost immediately stop.

"What?" I asked. He pointed to the ground. A thin trail of spiders was crawling off the path. "Do we follow them?" He looked at me and sighed. His expression was a mix of doubt and anxiety. He put the lantern down and drew his wand.

 _"Lumos."_ He stepped off the path and followed the spiders. I drew my wand and went after him. It suddenly felt quieter than usual. We stayed close to each other for safety. Arlert stepped on a twig and a creature scurried away at the snap. We both gasped and pointed our wands to its direction when we heard the leaves crunch. After catching our breath, we continued to follow the spiders. Arlert kept looking at the ground while I checked our surroundings. A few minutes after we strayed from the path, I looked up to see a giant spider staring at us. This one was the biggest of them all. I gasped and thrust my arm up to stop Arlert. When he looked up, he gasped.

 ** _"Welcome..."_** it began. I couldn't see a mouth moving, but a female voice came out of the spider. **_"We don't usually have visitors."_**

"Sorry, we didn't mean to trespass," Arlert croaked.

 ** _"No worries, no worries. I'm just surprised. It's been ages since two young boys have come to see us."_** More cat-sized spiders started to crawl out of the trees and surround us. I didn't like this.

"We, uh..." I grabbed Arlert's sleeve. "We'll be leaving now." I turned to run, but there were cobwebs and spiders blocking us.

 ** _"Why so hasty? You just got here."_** More of them came and were closing in on us. **_"After all, my babies are hungry."_**

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Arlert jumped behind me and looked up.

 _"Periculum!"_ he sent up a red flare and moved so we were facing the sides. "Any ideas?" he asked.

 _"Flipendo!"_ I aimed at the tree and shook out anything that was hiding in it. That was a mistake. At least ten spiders fell out and started running to me. _"Immobulus!"_ I immobilized them, but more came.

 _"Lumos Solem!"_ Arlert sent a bright ray of light and scared many of the spiders away.

"Thoughts on getting out of here, Armin?" I asked. _Wait... Armin? Now's not the time! Focus!_

 _"Incendio!"_ He pointed his wand at the webs blocking our path and set it on fire. We bolted out of there and sent up more flares to show we were moving. As we were running, I heard a cry and turned back. Armin had tripped and he had a rope of fibres around his ankles. I gasped and ran back to help him up. I hesitated to use the severing charm on the rope, which was a critical mistake. The queen started pulling him by the feet and I only held onto him by my left hand.

 _"Lumos Solem!"_ I tried the spell he used but it didn't affect her. My grip on him slipped and she pulled him away.  "No!" I got up to chase after them but was held back.

"Stop! You'll get hurt!" Professor Ness had caught up to us. I wrestled my wand arm from him and made one last attempt.

 _"Immobulus!"_ My spell missed and hit the ground next to the queen. I lowered my wand, having been defeated and watched as they dragged him away.

"You need to get back to the school." He held out his arm and I reluctantly grabbed it. We apparated, or teleported, to the entrance of the forest. "Back to your common room. We're putting the school on lockdown."

~Amanda POV~

Many people were in the common room studying for finals. Everything was normal until Professor Ackerman barged in.

"Everyone stays in the common room. The school is on lockdown," he managed to breathe out.

"Professer Ackerman! What has happened?" Liddle asked.

"Two students were serving detention in the Forbidden Forest. Only one came back. They're saying he was kidnapped by the Acromantula." I didn't even know what that creature was, but I immediately panicked.

"Was it the red boy or my brother?" I stood up and asked. Ackerman hesitated, but he told me.

"It was your brother." I gasped and nearly dropped my notes.

"Is he okay?"

"We're going to find him. Don't panic. Everyone else, no leaving," he finished and left. My ring turned smoky black and I didn't move.

"Oh no! Is poor Arlert going to lose her brother?" Songal started to provoke me.

"The Acromantula actually feed on humans," Rao chimed in.

"How long do you think he has?"

"Hey, Songal. Shut-up!" Theo spat and approached me.

"Alright. Everyone! To your dorms! It's almost curfew!" Liddle ordered. I stood motionless in the centre of the room as people pushed past me to the dorms. I looked at the ground and kept breathing in as I tried to say something. I didn't know what though. Theo tapped my shoulder and I looked up.

"You okay?" he asked. His expression was full of worry.

"I-" My eyes darted back and forth. I didn't know what to say. He pulled me in for a tight embrace. I was surprised, but I didn't mind. I took off my glasses and hugged him back trying desperately not to cry.

"It's going to be okay..." he whispered. We broke apart and separated into our dorms. As soon as I walked in, Songal and Rao were right behind the door blocking me from the rest of the room.

"Did you enjoy kissing Theo?" Songal screeched before I even closed the door.

"We weren't kissing!"

"Quit acting like you're the victim! You would use your mudblood brother as an excuse to snog?"

"DON'T! Call my brother a mudblood!" I pushed both of them back and ran to my bed. The rest of the girls whispered to each other for the rest of the night. Whenever Songal and Rao wanted to talk, one was always looking at me and they whispered in each other's ear while shielding it. I got dressed for bed and drew the hangings so I was alone.

"He's been out there for a while. How much time do you think he has left? Say... 30 minutes?" Songal's voice echoed.

"He's a mudblood anyway. He deserves to die."

"SHUT UP! SHUT! UP!" I ripped the hangings off my bed and shouted at the top of my lungs. "I've been letting you get away with calling me mudblood for the entire year! My patience is running thin! You do _not_ want to provoke me any farther!" I warned. They scoffed.

"Don't come crying when he dies."

"You bloody tossers! SHUT UP!" I yanked my blanket off my bed and pulled it over my shoulders. I ran to the door and grabbed the handle. "For the love of God! Leave me alone!" I slammed the door behind me and ran down into the common room. Liddle was still there leaning against a wall. When he saw me he sighed.

"I know you're worried, but you have to-" I stomped to the sofa and jumped into it, pulling my blanket over my face.

 _"Don't listen to them. Don't listen to them. He's fine. He's fine..."_ I whispered to myself and tried to hold back the tears. The covers were pulled away from my face and I saw Liddle. I put my hands over my eyes and held my breath.

"Amanda..." He called me by my first name. "Don't listen to who?" I lost it. I breathed in with a raspy hiss.

"Songal and Rao..." I squeaked. I kept trying to fight the tears, but they kept coming.

"What did they say?" he asked. I couldn't think to come with an answer. I just said what was on my mind.

"They're purists. They're filthy blood purists!" I refused to move my hands.

"They're blood purists?" he questioned. I nodded my head.

"They're wishing death on my brother..." I confessed. He had a short intake of breath.

"Hey..." He pulled my hand off my face. "We'll take care of them tomorrow. You can stay out here for the night. You need rest," he whispered. I nodded my head and turned to my side as he got up and went back to the wall.

 


	15. Right the Wong

~Eren POV~

I was sent to the Gryffindor tower and we were put on lockdown. Many students stayed in the common room until curfew, but I went straight to my dorm. I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about the incident in the forest. Armin was still out there. Probably tied up in webs and constricted. I started to think back to what I could have done differently. I thought about what spells I didn't use, and one specific one came to mind. _Arania Exumai._ Its sole purpose is to repel spiders. Of all the times I could have forgotten it, it had to be when I needed it. The other boys eventually filed in and we turned off the lights. I kept tossing and turning in my bed, much to the displeasure of my roommates. Even after the lights went out, I couldn't relax. It felt weird to keep thinking about him, but I couldn't help it. How was I going to find out if the professors found him? Would I have to wait until morning? What if he's not there at breakfast? All because I forgot a simple spell. I couldn't stand it. I pulled my hangings open and picked up my wand.

"Eren?" I turned around and Jean was looking at me. "What are you doing?"

"Going out." I opened my trunk and pulled out my Gryffindor scarf and a pair of gloves.

"It's past curfew. What do you even want to do?" he asked. I turned around and showed him my wand.

"What do you think?" I huffed. "The professors didn't ask me where it all happened. By the time they've searched the forest, he'll already be dead," I told him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay? You want to go into a dangerous forest to save Arlert?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm only doing it so he'll owe me later." I walked towards the door and was about to open it.

"Wait!" Jean got out of his bed. "I'm going with you." I looked at him and sighed.

"Fine, bundle up. It's bloody cold in the forest," I advised. We descended the tower and entered the common room. Ymir was on the sofa and levitating some items in the room.

"Where are you two going?" she asked.

"The forest," I replied without even stopping.

"Cool! Can I come?" She stood up and started walking to us. I was about to say no, but Jean beat me to it.

"There's safety in numbers. Come."

"Awesome!" I rolled my eyes and sighed. I intended to do this alone, but I guess I could use the extra help. We left the common room and went outside. We were walking through the school grounds when Jean turned around and stopped.

 _"Who is that?"_ he whispered. Ymir and I turned around in a panic and once I identified who was following us, my heart sank.

"It's my dad... _Run."_ We all turned and stormed into the castle in hopes of losing him. There, we found two Hufflepuff students with armfuls of food. They were approaching the pile of butterbeer barrels when we caught up to them. One noticed us and turned around. I recognized him as the Hufflepuff Keeper, Bott. He tapped the other one on the shoulder and she turned out to be Armin's best friend, Blouse. She had her rat on her shoulder and it had a small pouch attached to its leg. It looked like it was used to get more food for her. When she saw us, she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked annoyed.

"Let us in your common room. We're being chased," Jean told them hastily. Blouse scoffed.

"Why would we let you guys in after everything you've done to my friends?" Ymir pulled out her wand and looked as if she was about to threaten them with it. But instead, she stabbed her wand into a loaf of bread Blouse was carrying.

"Let us in or we'll tell them about all this. That way, instead of us losing 50 points each, we'll only lose 25," she threatened.

"Or stay out here and we'll all get caught. _By my dad!"_ I tried to express how much trouble they were about to be in. Blouse didn't act right away, but Bott did. He knocked on a butterbeer barrel in an unknown rhythm to me. It opened the path and a staircase upward revealed itself. We scurried inside and the path closed.

The Hufflepuff common room wasn't that bad. There was a lot of yellow, but it was pretty nice to me. We closed the door and I pressed my ear against it to listen for my dad. I couldn't hear anything and turned to see Jean talking to Bott on the couch.

 _"You two. Shut-up!"_ I whispered and put my ear back on it.

"Does he always boss you around like that?" I heard Blouse ask.

"No, but he is a baby sometimes," Ymir replied.

"Guys, I'm trying to listen for my dad so we can get out of here," I said and tried again. They were silent this time, but I still couldn't hear anything. "Let's just wait a little bit. I can't hear anything."

"Great, now I'm stuck with you," Blouse huffed.

"How did you two get out of your common room? The school is on lockdown and our prefect went to sleep just minutes before we left," Ymir asked.

"We were already in the kitchens when we heard about the lockdown. We didn't want to lose any points so we stayed there," Bott explained.

"Why are we even on lockdown? And why would _you_ want to leave?" Blouse inquired. Her tone was getting annoying. I leaned against the wall and copied her sass by looking down at my nails.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because your best friend is about to get eaten by giant spiders?" I looked up at her with one eyebrow raised and my hand still in front of my face. She immediately panicked and I crossed my arms.

"How long have we been on lockdown?"

"Hours. The professors are out looking for him, but they didn't ask me where it happened. He'll be dead by the time they reach him unless we go," I explained.

"So you let him get carried away!" She dropped everything and drew her wand. She approached me and pointed it at my face. I pushed her wand down and rolled my eyes.

"I highly doubt you'd do any better when you have hundreds of cat-sized spiders on you trying to eat the flesh off your bones," I reasoned. She huffed and put away her wand. She walked back to all the food she dropped and started eating it.

"Why do you think your dad was out there?" Ymir asked.

"I don't know. Probably checking on the Slytherins," I proposed. "Speaking of which, Armin's sister is a Slytherin..." I mumbled

"Oh, so you think calling him by his first name is going to make me think you're noble?" Blouse accused. I looked at her and furrowed my eyebrows.

"Look, if you don't believe me when I say 'We're going out there.' Watch me do it. I'm saving your best friend's life!" I shouted. She rolled her eyes and continued eating. We stood there in silence for a while.

"Do you think your dad has passed by now?" Ymir questioned.

"Probably." I opened the door. "Let's go." Ymir and Jean filed out the door and I was about to leave.

"Wait!" Blouse shouted out. "Let me go too." I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"...Fine. Only because you think you're so much better than I am and I want to see how well you'll do," I said. She got up and Bott followed her. I didn't argue about him. It wasn't worth reasoning.

~Armin POV~

I wasn't in the best condition with the spiders. They had me completely wrapped in webs and I couldn't move. My wand was still in my hand, but any spell I could think to use was too risky. I couldn't burn off the webs and if I used the severing charm, there was a possibility I'd hit myself and bleed to death. I was able to reason with the queen to hold off on eating me, but I didn't expect her to give me much time. My thoughts turned to my sister.

 _I hope she's okay..._ I thought. Then I went to Eren. He did so many things to try and stop the queen from getting me. I never thought that he'd even attempt to save me from anything. It was bizarre, but not the important thing. Even if they did spare me, I wouldn't last long on the cold. Unless there's someone out there for me, I didn't have hope. 

~Eren POV~

"How far did you make it in the forest?" Blouse was getting really annoying on the way.

"Look, what happened was we followed the path until we saw a trail of spiders. Armin left the lantern at the exact spot we left and all I can do is pray to Merlin it's still there," I explained and continued to walk. We did eventually find the lantern he left. The light had burned out, but it was the same one. We left it behind in case the professors hadn't passed by it yet and we stepped off the path. Everyone stayed behind me while I led the way. I already knew what to expect but they were shaking in their boots.

"How long has he been out here? It's freezing!" Blouse continued to talk.

"Hush! The last thing we want is for them to know we're here," I ordered. Everyone fell silent and we kept going. Eventually, we got to the spot where we ran into the queen.

 ** _"Back again I see. And you've brought some friends."_** We all turned to her when we heard her voice.

"Where have you taken Armin?" Blouse ordered. The queen laughed.

**_"Oh, he's still alive, but not for much longer."_ **

_"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Blouse hissed her spell and it hit the queen.

"Is that the best one you've got?" I asked.

"You got anything better?" she put her hand on her hip and sneered.

"In fact, I do! Ms I'm-going-to-do-better-than-you-in-the-forest!" I spat back and turned to the hordes of spiders coming towards us. _"Arania Exumai!"_ The flash from my wand took care of any of them in my way. "You guys keep them busy! I'll look for Armin!" I ran off on my own and their blasts continued to spark from their wands.

"Be safe!" Bott called. I ran off in the direction where he was carried away and called his name.

"Armin! Are you out there?" I didn't hear a response so I kept running. I stepped over leaves and branches and made tons of noise.

"Is someone out there?" I heard a voice call. It was definitely Armin's. I ran to the direction of the voice and found him behind some bushes. As I expected, he was completely wrapped from his shoulders down in webs. He had a few spiders around him, but I easily took care of them. I pointed my wand to the webs on his left shoulder and made up my mind to use the severing charm.

 _"Diffindo..."_ I hesitantly said it, which probably had everything to do with what happened next. I cut through the webs, but I went to deep and he started bleeding.

"Bloody hell!" He wrestled his right hand from the webs and immediately cupped his hand over the wound. Even then, I could see blood dripping between his fingers.

"Sorry!" I pulled the rest of the webs off of him and he got up. I grabbed his hand and started running back to the others.

"It's fine... Please tell me you're not alone..." His voice sounded shaky like he was about to pass out. I pulled his arm over my shoulder and dragged him out of the bushes. His body was cold and he was shivering. Every once and a while, he'd wince and I'd stop to ask if he was okay.

"You're going to be fine... I got you." His breathing got heavier and I called out to the others. They ran to me and Blouse panicked like crazy.

"Armin! WHAT DID YOU DO!" She pointed her wand at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Sasha... It was an accident. It's okay. I just need to get to the hospital wing," he breathed.

"Send up a flare, everyone," I ordered.

"But won't we get into trouble?" Jean asked.

"Either we get into trouble or Armin dies and we're to blame!" I shot. Blouse immediately put her wand in the air.

 _"Periculum!"_ She shot a flare and turned to the others. "What are you waiting for?" she exclaimed. The others did the same and turned to me.

"Our best option is to wait. If we move, the professors might not get to us," I urged. Suddenly, Armin let go in his legs and I slowly helped him to the ground. Blouse dove to his other side and took his arm.

"What is it?" she asked.

"He's losing blood. Someone just keep sending flares," I ordered. Bott stood up started sending up flares. "Does anybody know any healing spells?" I asked and looked at everyone. The only thing we heard was Bott saying _Periculum_ over and over again. I turned to Armin. "Do you know any?" He looked up and shook his head. I didn't like this. He wasn't even speaking anymore. I looked at the cut and noticed that blood had gotten on my clothes. He was bleeding so much, there was a thin layer of his blood on me, but that wasn't important. As I was about to touch my shoulder, I noticed something that I could have done earlier. _My scarf._ "...Oh my god! I'm such an idiot!" I shouted and started to take it off. I wrapped it around his shoulder and put pressure on the wound.

"You didn't think to do that sooner?" Blouse yelled at me.

"Blimey! I'm trying my best! I've been wearing this the entire time and nobody said anything. We're all idiots!" I yelled back. "Where are the professors? We don't have much longer!" Jean had joined Bott in sending flares.

"Headmaster! If you're out there! I just thought you'd like to know a student is about to die!" Ymir shouted out into the forest. Two minutes later, we heard leaves crunching. The headmaster, Professor Reiss, and my mum ran up to us.

"Eren Jaeger! Why are you-"

"Really? You want to talk about that now!" Everyone looked at Armin. He was now bleeding through my scarf. My mum approached Armin and me and the other two went to the others. She helped me get Armin to his feet and then we disapparated out of the forest. We rushed into the school and to the hospital wing.

"Onto the bed," Mum ordered. Our school healer, Madam Meaburn, rushed up to us.

"Low body temperature and excessive bleeding," I explained as I unwrapped my scarf. Blouse and the others busted through the door. Madam Meaburn came to Armin's side and pulled out her wand.

 _"Vulnera Sanentur."_ Any blood that was on his clothes seemed to be sucked back into his body and once it was all back, the wound started to close up. Armin's eyes were closed but he hadn't passed out. His breathing was slow but steady and he was able to take deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He rubbed his eyes.

"I'm just tired..." he mumbled.

"One last thing dear, before you go to sleep." Meaburn ran to her potions cabinet and came back with a red potion and a cup. She filled the cup up halfway and gave it to Armin. He took the cup with hesitation and drank it as quickly as possible.

"Ugh!" He was so disgusted, he was able to fully sit up and give the cup back.

"That should replenish all the blood you lost. Now you just need to wrap up warm for the night," Meaburn said as she took the cup. She went to a cabinet and came back with a heavy blanket to put on Armin.

"As for the rest of you..." The headmaster spoke up. "I want you all to get a checkup from Meaburn. If you don't have any injuries, you might as well just stay here for the night. We all meet in my office first thing in the morning tomorrow," He ordered.

"Yes, sir," we replied.

 


	16. Consequences

~Armin POV~

"Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourselves in?" We were in the headmaster's office after I recovered the next day. Eren, Kirstein, Fritz, Bott, and Sasha were all in a line in front of his desk and I was in the corner. Professor Reiss, the head of Ravenclaw house, was behind me and had his hands on my shoulders.

"..." None of the other students replied.

"Whose idea was it to go out there?" he asked. Sasha looked up and inhaled to talk.

"It was my idea," Eren spoke up before she said anything. I looked at him in disbelief. I thought it must have been Sasha but everyone was looking at him without any look of surprise. I stared at him and he glanced back at me.

"What would prompt you into doing something so stupid?" Headmaster Shadis questioned.

"You didn't ask me where the incident happened. I was afraid you guys wouldn't have gotten to him in time. I wanted to go on my own but Jean and Ymir insisted on going. We ran into these two on the way and we left together," he confessed.

"Very well," Shadis started. "Each one of you will be losing 100 points from your respective houses. You though..." He paused and looked at Eren. "You'll be losing 150 because you were the mastermind behind this." I was just as shocked as they were.

"Yes, sir," Eren replied. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had ultimately lost their chances of winning the house cup.

"But at the same time," he started up again. "If it weren't for you five, Mr Arlert most likely would have died before we got to him. So, you all will still owe me some detention time, but you will still have your lunchtime to study for your finals."

"Yes, sir," They all replied.

"I will be mailing to all of your parents tonight. Don't be surprised if you get howlers tomorrow. You are dismissed," he finished. The other five filed out and I stayed behind to the headmaster's request. "Mr Arlert, how are you?"

"I'm much better. Madam Meaburn really helped," I replied.

"I see that your robe has been repaired."

"Oh, no. This is one of my spares. The one I wore in the forest is still ripped."

"I see, very well. You head on over to the Great Hall. I'm sure your sister wants to see you," he finished and stood up. I also stood up.

"Y-yes. Thank you, sir," I said and left the room. Outside, Fritz was waiting for me.

"Hey, Arlert."

"What?" I asked.

"You know your Quidditch teammate, Historia? Tell her I'm cool, okay?" She backed off a little bit and waited for my response.

"W-what? Why-"

"Just tell her I helped save your life. That'd be great."

"Well, technically Eren was the one who did most of the work-"

"Wait... Did you just call him Eren?" She bent down and a large grin grew on her face. I blinked and looked down to think.

"Did... Did I? Have I been calling him that?" I asked. She laughed.

"What relationship goals! And to think, you hated each other two days ago!" She clapped her hands together and laughed. I averted my eyes for a moment to think but soon looked back having no conclusion. "Just make sure to tell her, okay?" She patted my shoulder and walked away. I stayed there and thought for a moment, but soon decided I ought not to think of it right now. My sister was probably waiting for me in the Great Hall.

I scurried down the corridors to get to the Great Hall. I stopped at the door to scan the Slytherin table for Amanda. By the time I saw her, she was already running towards me.

"Armin!" She crashed into me hard and forced us into an embrace. After regaining my balance, I hugged her back. She took her glasses off and dug her face into my shoulder. She took a deep sigh and sniffed.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay," I comforted and wiped a tear off her cheek. I held her until a Slytherin boy approached us. I saw his prefect badge and he stopped to smile.

"Hello, you must be Amanda's brother. I'm Liddle, her prefect," he greeted. Amanda let go of me and he held his hand out for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you," I replied and shook his hand.

"We have a meeting with the headmaster after breakfast. I think it would be best if you came," He informed.

"What are we meeting about?" I asked. Liddle looked at Amanda and she looked back at me.

"You'll find out," she said. We went to our respective tables where Connie also gave me a brief embrace once I sat down. Breakfast passed and Liddle came to the Ravenclaw table with Amanda to take us to the office. He led us up a few floors and took us to a huge statue of a gargoyle and stopped.

 _"Truffles,"_ Liddle spoke. The statue stepped aside and revealed a spiral staircase. He led us down and in front of Shadis's desk. Behind the desk was the headmaster and the Head of Slytherin house, Professor Ackerman. There were four chairs in a line and I took the leftmost one. Amanda sat down next to me. "I have two other students to bring here. We'll begin momentarily," Liddle informed and left. Amanda and I talked to the Headmaster as we waited for Liddle to return. He soon came back with two girls. One with fiery red hair and the other an Indian girl walking with extreme poise. Both girls were obviously rich and wearing sparkling jewellery. "Mr Arlert, could you switch seats with your sister?" Liddle asked. I was confused, but I was sure he knew what he was doing. I switched with her and the two girls sat next to me. Liddle joined the rest of the faculty on the other side of the desk.

"I'm sure you know why you're here," The headmaster began.

"You both are well aware we do not tolerate blood purist activities. I let you get away with it on the first day, but we've been informed that you didn't stop," Liddle said sharply and crossed his arms. The two girls rolled their eyes and shifted in their seats.

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" I asked.

"These two girls have been bullying your sister and we were just told last night," Professor Ackerman explained. I looked at the other girls and they didn't even care. The redhead was counting galleons in her money pouch, while the Indian girl slacked back and looked at me with one eyebrow raised and her hands behind her head.

"What are their names?" I demanded and continued to stare at them.

"The red one is Bailey Songal and the other one is Nisha Rao," Amanda spoke up. I looked at her and she was slouched in her seat looking down. I moved closer to her and put my arm around her.

"Now that we have all that established, Ms Arlert," The headmaster began. "Why haven't you told us about this?"

"Why didn't you tell _me?"_ I asked.

"I didn't want the situation to get worse and I didn't want you to worry about me," she confessed covering her eyes. Now that Amanda was displaying emotion, Songal and Rao were interested in watching her.

 _Those bitches._ I thought to myself.

"What pushed you to tell me last night?" Liddle questioned.

"After Ackerman told us it was my brother that went missing, they made fun of me and continued to harass me after going into our dorm. They called him a mudblood and wished death on him." I whipped my head around and looked back at them. I wanted to hex them to death. "I left the dorm and slept in the common room for that night. When I went back to change for the day, 'mudblood' was carved into my trunk..." Her voice started to shake. I directed my attention back to her and grabbed her hand. Normally, she'd find it embarrassing, but she didn't pull away and her ring was turning blue.

"Do any of the other girls do anything to help you?" Shadis questioned. Amanda covered her face with her other hand.

"Of course they don't care about me! If they did, they would have stopped a couple of gits from carving a vulgar insult onto someone's trunk!" she shouted. "That trunk was my dad's..."

"Why does that matter? No one cares it belonged to your dad, you shouldn't either," Rao sneered. I had enough. I let go of my sister's hand and stood up, throwing my chair five feet back.

"Our parents are dead!" I shouted and looked at them dead in the eye. Songal rolled her eyes.

"There you go. All Arlerts like to play the victim. Boohoo, your dad is dead. Mine is too, you know," she spat.

"But unlike you! We have a damn about our parents and loved them instead of expecting galleons to be thrown on us daily! You have _no idea_ how much self-control it's taking for me not to draw my wand and hex you _both_ into _oblivion!"_ I screamed back at them.

"That's not how you treat a lady. You'll never get a girl as pretty as us with that attitude," Songal sassed. "I wouldn't be surprised if you go after another mudblood."

"BAILEY SONGAL!" Liddle slammed his hand on the desk and leaned over it to look at them. "Say that word _one more time_ and I'll send _you_ to the Forbidden Forest to serve detention! That goes for you too! Rao!" he fumed.

 _Who said I was going to go for a girl in the first place?_ I thought.

"There's more..." Amanda spoke up. She was definitely crying behind her hands. "They spread gossip about me. A Gryffindor girl said I was manipulative in potions once. I don't have any friends other than Theo and Gabi..." she sniffed and I sat back down.

"And you've had to live with these girls all year?" Liddle asked and she nodded.

"Well, Ms Arlert, I think you'll be happy to hear that another room has a free bunk," Shadis announced. Amanda looked up and wiped her tears with hopeful eyes. "Once this meeting is over, I'd like you to go and back all of your belongings to move dorms."

"As for you two..." Professor Ackerman spoke up. "I am very disappointed in both of you. You've earned yourself detention for the rest of the year. Rao, you'll be serving it with Professor Hannes and scrubbing all of the cauldrons in the school. Songal, you'll be working with the house elves and cleaning around the school for an hour daily." They both gasped.

"I am not a house elf! I am offended!" Songal gasped.

"You've said things that are more offensive to Ms Arlert and it's time you be punished for it! You've lost 50 points each for Slytherin! I expect you to be mature young ladies and admit your wrongdoings!" The headmaster shouted.

"If you haven't realized, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff just lost tons of points this morning. Even with you two costing us 100 points, we're still in the lead. This is our chance to win the house cup for the first time since the '80s! _Don't screw us up!"_ Liddle shouted at them.

"Girls do more than just scrub cauldrons! How sexist! Men are so thick!" Rao complained.

"Keep up that attitude and you _will_ be sent to the Forbidden Forest to serve detention! **_Get out of my sight!"_** Ackerman screamed and pointed to the door. The girls stood up and ran out without a word. Ackerman sat down and sighed. I looked at Amanda and, for some reason, she was smiling.

"That was brilliant," she said and made us all laugh.

"I... I apologise for losing my temper. Do I still have my badge...?" Liddle asked the faculty next to him.

"We all lost our temper. You still have your badge, but you know you can't send students to the forest for detention," Ackerman replied.

"Yeah... I just thought it would get them to shut up," Liddle defended scratching the back of his neck.

"You still showed responsibility by coming to us to take care of the matter. Take 10 points," Shadis complimented. Liddle smiled and thanked him.

"And Amanda," Ackerman spoke up. "You are a very strong young lady. I'm proud of you." She continued to wipe away her tears and I rubbed her shoulder.

"I believe you have some new roommates to meet," Liddle beamed. Amanda smiled back.

"Yes, thank you so much."

 


	17. Finals Week

~Amanda POV~

I immediately went to pack my trunk and meet my new roommates. Sylvana sat on my trunk and I walked to my new room. I arrived at the room and knocked on the door. I heard excited voices from inside and eventually, the door opened.

"Yes! You must be our new roommate!" A girl with bushy emerald green hair and dark skin opened the door and welcomed me in.

I pulled my trunk in and picked up Sylvana.

"Yeah. Where am I going to be sleeping? She needs someplace comfortable to sit before she scratches someone," I questioned.

"That one over there. Don't worry, we made the house elves change the sheets before you got here," The blonde one replied and pointed to the bed next to the window.

I walked over to it and put my cat down. Once I turned around, the green-haired girl was already looking at my trunk.

"Who did that?" She asked and pointed to the carving of 'mudblood' on the lid.

"Oh, that was done by Songal or Rao... Or any of my old roommates, I wasn't there when it happened," I informed as I walked up to her.

"What a prat," she huffed and her hair turned red. I stared at her in shock but she pulled out her wand and didn't seem to notice. _"Reparo."_ She cast the spell then swiped her hand over my trunk. The carving was gone. "There! Good as new!" She jumped up with a smile. I touched the area where the carving was in awe, from both her good thinking and her hair.

"I didn't think to do that. Thank you," I commented.

"I'm Jade Bythe. You must be Amanda." I looked up to see that her hair was back to green.

"Just call me Ruth," The blonde girl said.

"Yes, nice to meet you. Uh... Your hair turned red for a moment back there," I informed. She touched her hair and chuckled.

"Never seen a Metamorphmagus before?" she asked.

"A what?"

"A Metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance to anything I want. Such as..." She turned around and pulled her hood up. Once she was done, she pulled her hood down, turned and snapped her fingers and pointed at me. She turned into Professor Ackerman. We all burst out in laughter.

"That one's the classic!" Ruth shouted and continued laughing. Jade turned back and also started laughing.

"Where are the other girls?" I asked.

"They're in the common room studying for finals. They say we're too loud for them to focus," Jade replied.

"They don't know what they're missing! Is that a cat I see?" Ruth jumped from her bed and ran to Sylvana. She kneeled to the side of the bed and reached out to her.

"Oh, yeah. That's Sylvana." Jade ran up next to Ruth and I followed her.

"Aww! She's adorable!" Jade shouted.

"Can we pet her?" Ruth asked with hopeful eyes.

"Alright, I'll unpack my trunk." I walked over to it and threw them some cat toys. "If she starts hissing, don't push her. She's vicious when she's angry." I took my robes from my trunk and when I looked up, Jade had whiskers and a cat mouth and nose. I eventually decided not to question it and went over to the dresser. 

~Armin POV~

After dinner that night, I wrote a note to Grandpa about everything that happened. The forest situation and Amanda's move. I was on my way to the Owlery when I heard a voice and stopped.

"Honestly! What do you want me to do! Transfigure myself into Slytherin?" It was Eren's voice.

"Son, you know that doesn't matter-"

"Oh really! Then why did you only ever wish Mikasa luck before the Quidditch games?" He was arguing with his dad. " _And_ you award her house points when she does something good in your class while I'm left in the dust!"

"If I keep awarding you points then others will assume I'm unprofessional," he reasoned.

"Are you serious? _Everyone_ knows you adopted her! _Everyone_ knows she's your daughter! Ever since the Sorting Hat said 'Gryffindor', you've been acting like I'm not your son! You give all of your attention to Mikasa. I know she's smart. I know she has good grades, but as a teacher and my father, you shouldn't be picking favourites!" Eren was screaming at this point. He really sounded like he was hurt.

"Eren, we can have this conversation when we get home for the summer. Anyone could overhear us," The professor concluded and I heard his footsteps start walking. I picked up the pace and started walking to the Owlery. I failed to evade Jaeger and I ended up putting the note to my chest and saying,

"Evening, sir." Before walking again. If Jaeger wasn't enough, I climbed the steps to the Owlery and Eren was there.

"..." He didn't have a note or anything, he was just there in front of a rusty coloured barn owl. I stopped at the door and stared at him for a moment. He stared back, it was really awkward. I cleared my throat and looked down before walking over to Alba. He was definitely staring me down as I did so. I approached her and showed her the letter with an awkward smile. She stuck out her leg as I did so. I began tying it to her leg and my thoughts raced.

 _Is he looking at me? Did he know I was going to be here? This is so awkward..._ I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize I had stopped tying the letter until Alba hooted. I resumed, but I did it slowly. _Just turn around and look for yourself!_ I silently sighed and peered over my shoulder. I looked to see he was doing the same and I quickly whipped my head back blushing. Alba was getting fed up with me and she flapped her wings and chirped angrily. "No-" I tried to soothe her but she wouldn't listen.

"Do you need help?" I turned to see Eren completely facing me next to his barn owl. My eyes darted around the room and he just started walking towards me without a response. I decided to step aside and let him help. I was able to get a good look at him now. He was wearing some dragon hide gauntlets and the same summer cloak that he wore when we ran into each other at the book shop. It said _Songal_ on the left side.

"Songal..." I murmured. Back then, it didn't mean anything, but that name has been a point of contention since the meeting with Shadis.

"What?" he asked.

"Your cloak... It says Songal..."

"And?"

"A girl that bullies my sister has that name," I explained.

"Does she have red hair?" he inquired. I nodded my head. "Yep, that's the owner's daughter," he said and pulled out a treat from his pocket. I just watched. He was supporting my sister's bully. I didn't know what to think of it. "You know the other kids aren't that bad," he started. He was still looking at Alba and soothing her. From the side, he looked quite handsome. Way to make me feel insecure. I averted my eyes to Alba and see what he was doing to calm her. "I've met the family. She has an older brother in Hufflepuff and he's much better than Bailey. She also has a younger sister who's coming next year,"

"Oh?"

"She's better than Bailey but, she gets very impatient at times. I'm not saying she'll be sorted into your house but... She might." He made it sound like it was a bad thing. I decided not to continue the subject and looked back at my owl. He still hadn't given her the treat and she was still acting up. He put it in front of her beak but pulled it away. She eventually took the hint and calmed down and she finally got her treat.

"Thanks..." I mumbled and finished tying the letter.

"How often do you come to see your owl?" he asked.

"Not much... I usually only come when I need to send a letter."

"Keep that up and she'll start to think you're just using her," he mused.

"How did you know she's a girl?"

"Female snowy owls have more black spots than males. Yours has quite a few of them," he pointed out. "How long have you had her?"

"Just under two years. I got her when she was six months."

"Are you ever going to start training her?"

"Train her to do what?" I questioned. He held up his right arm.

"Aerugo," he called and the rusty barn owl perched on his arm. "That," he said. I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but after he said that, I really started to check him out. I shook myself to my senses and cleared my throat.

"Impressive," I told him and turned around. I picked up Alba and took her outside. I released her and Eren came up next to me with Aerugo still on his arm. "How old is your owl?" I asked.

"He's four years," he replied and started petting him.

"Isn't that a little old for owls?" I asked.

"He's in perfectly good health." he shrugged. "Also, you owe me one from the forest."

"Wow, way to dismiss the goodness," I muttered and looked back at Alba flying off. "What do you want?"

"You can help me study for finals," he suggested.

"I don't know... There are some people that are just unteachable. I can try, you definitely need a refresher in charms," I joked.

"Anything helps. I just want to pass this year," he assured.   
  


The next day at breakfast, I got to the Great Hall early to meet Amanda. Theo was with her. It was her birthday and Sasha and I snuck into the kitchens to get a bag of the green pears she likes.

"YES!" she exclaimed when she saw them.

"You should probably put those on your bed and eat them later. I'm technically not supposed to have that," I suggested. Braun was on the other side of the Slytherin table and he snickered.

"Mind if I-"

"Shut-up," I monotoned.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thank you." She gave me a hug and left to the dungeons.

"It's her birthday?" Theo asked and I nodded. "I would have gotten her something if I knew..." he murmured. He looked down and thought for a moment. "What kind of tea does she like?"

"She prefers herbal. Specifically chamomile and peppermint," I explained.

"I might have one of those." He ran out of the hall and to the dungeons as well. Connie and I sat down at the Ravenclaw table and the daily post flew in. I wasn't thinking about it until I heard a shout.

 ** _"YMIR FRITZ!"_** The entire hall fell silent and looked over to the Gryffindor table. Fritz had a note in a red envelope and it flew out of her hands and took a somewhat mouth shape. **_"I can't believe you went into the forest and almost got yourself killed! It's bad enough that you sneak out at nights and get yourself detention! But THIS! Can you even IMAGINE what damage you've caused to the family name? Do you have no decency? I expect your behaviour to improve for next year or I'll teach you at home myself!"_** The note then tore up by itself and fell onto the table. That's what a howler is. It's a note that always comes in a red envelope and it yells at the receiver before tearing itself up. Parents usually send them to their children when they misbehave at school. I suddenly remembered what she asked me to do yesterday outside of Shadis's office. Historia was close to me and I decided to get it over with.

"Ymir's cool," I leaned over and told her. I hadn't thought about what I was going to say but I didn't care enough to rehearse it. Historia just looked at me a little confused and shrugged. 

~Amanda POV~

"Your notes are very smudged." I was in the Great Hall with Theo to study for finals.

"I'm left-handed," he grumbled and dropped his quill. I looked at his hand and he had ink marks all over the side of his hand.

"Is your wand pocket on the right side of your robe then?"

"I actually have one on both sides. When we got them, they put it on the left and they didn't feel like removing it so they just added another one," he explained. Armin then came into the room with Jaeger. I hadn't forgiven for punching my brother after the Quidditch game, so I was still unsure what to think of him. Armin put his bag down and he pulled out an apple.

"You want me to levitate it?" Jaeger asked.

"No, I want you to make half an inch deep cut in it."

"I don't need help with that!" he protested and Armin crossed his arms.

"Your attempt in the forest was pathetic," he spat. "You had to cut through an inch of webs and about five millimetres of my robes to get me out without hurting me. You went beyond that and cut half a centimetre deep into my flesh." With that, I dropped my notes and watched as my brother attempted to teach him. Theo also stopped what he was doing to watch. Jaeger rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand.

 _"Diffindo."_ Armin picked up the apple and examined it.

"...You went in two inches." Theo and I tried desperately to silence out giggles. "Yeah, you need to see Professor Ackerman for this. Let's move onto potions," he sighed and took out some notes. "What is in a Forgetfulness Potion?"

"I forgot..." I couldn't contain myself. I burst out laughing and Armin looked over to me.

"Amanda, can you tell Mr Jaeger what's in a Forgetfulness Potion?"

"Lethe River Water, Valerian springs, Standard Ingredient, and Mistletoe berries," I replied.

"I guarantee you'll forget it over the summer. When would we ever need it anyway?" Jaeger grumbled.

"If a muggle ever sees you doing magic, you'll have to make them forget," Theo suggested. Jaeger leaned over the table.

"I want you to think about the logic in that statement for a minute," he ordered. "A muggle sees me doing magic. Now assuming I somehow get away with using magic at all in the muggle world, I'd have to go and get the ingredients, brew the potion, use magic _again_ to finish the potion, and get that muggle to drink it," he explained. I agreed with him. A potion wouldn't work for that situation.

"I don't mean to rain on your parade, but there's just, in general, having an education. What would happen to your, oh so important, pride if someone knew you couldn't brew a beginner level potion?" Armin coaxed.

"These things won't be on the finals. I could use more of a refresher on something that we learned this year and have a better chance of still having a bed when I get home!" He threw his arms up and leaned back.

"...Give me a moment." Armin got up and walked over to the headmaster at the staff table. After talking to him briefly, he came back and packed up his books. "Pack up. We're going to the courtyard."

"Why?"

"Nothing's better than a duel to refresh your memory. The headmaster has given us permission. Maybe this one won't end in a draw," he announced. I started packing up as well.

"I am not going to miss this! You coming?" I turned to Theo and asked.

"Sure, it can't hurt."

~Eren POV~

We went outside to the courtyard and prepared for a duel. Professor Ackerman supervised us and Armin's sister sat on a bench with her friend to watch.

"Wands at the ready!" We lifted our wands. "1... 2... 3!"

 _"Rictusempra!"_ I attacked first and Armin fell to his knees laughing. A classic spell, the Tickling Jinx.

 _"T-ta-aran-! Taranallegra!"_ My legs began to dance out of control. Armin's sister broke out in laughter along with her friend. There was Armin on his knees crying and clutching his ribs gasping for air, and me dancing like a fool. It's a step up from using painful spells, I guess.

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ I attempted to stun him but my aim was being thrown off by my legs.

 _"Serpensortia!"_ Of all the spells he could have used next, that one was of my least expectations. He summoned a snake and it was onto me. I freaked out a little bit and made several attempts to stun it. I eventually hit it and took aim at Armin.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

"No-" His wand went flying from his hand but he was still being affected by my jinx so he couldn't go get it.

 _"Finite Incantatem!"_ Professor Ackerman lifted the curses we sent on each other and Amanda clapped at the end of the duel. Armin was now able to get his wand and Ackerman approached me.

"Congratulations," Armin panted once he had his wand. "You won." He was obviously exhausted from laughing so much and my legs felt like jelly. I had to hold onto Ackerman for support.

"That was brilliant! Ten points to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!" he announced.

"I don't see why you shouldn't pass your exams this year," Armin breathed out. I was starting to like this guy.  
  
  


The other Gryffindor students noticed that we had dropped to last place soon enough. Everyone wanted to know who could have possibly cost us 350 points in one day. Jean, Ymir, and I confessed eventually and for a few minutes, they all wanted to kill us, but after explaining to them that we saved Armin, they forgave us for the most part. We all wanted the house cup, but they couldn't blame us. The teachers had no chance of finding him without the knowledge that I had. The professors didn't make it easier to earn points for us. In fact, my dad started awarding Slytherin double the points he normally does after that. I tried to ignore it, but it was a hurtful feeling that followed me constantly. All I want is to make him proud, but the simple fact that I wear an emblem with a lion instead of a snake makes it impossible to please him.

~Armin POV~

I later explained to Amanda that Eren was the one who got me out of the forest. For a while, she was hesitant to trust him and her excuse was,

"He's a Gryffindor." I jokingly suggested that she should thank Eren as well for saving her brother and her reaction was priceless. She panicked immediately and told her she had to before the end of the year. I didn't hear anything about it and I found myself sitting in the Great Hall on the last day before I knew it. The hall was decorated with Slytherin banners as they were in first place.

"Another year has gone! I hope you all have learned much this year and we will begin the feast momentarily. The house cup needs to be awarded and the points are as follows:

In fourth place, Gryffindor with 328 points; in third, Hufflepuff, with 412 points; in second, Ravenclaw, with 668 points; and first, Slytherin, with 702 points," The headmaster announced. Loud cheers erupted from the Slytherin table. "Slytherin has won the house cup! Now, I believe we have a feast prepared for us." Plates and goblets appeared on the tables and we began the feast. I kept my eye on Amanda and waited for her to do something. I was expecting her to say thank you and she knew it. After she realized I wasn't going to stop, she sighed and scanned the table. She picked up a cookie and walked to the Gryffindor table.

"..." She stared at Eren and her face started turning red. "Thank you for saving my brother," she mumbled and gave him the cookie. Without even waiting for a reply from him, she turned her heel and started walking back down the table. We made eye contact as she approached me and she hit the back of my head as she passed. Plenty of people from the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables started laughing. She sat back down and tried to enjoy the rest of the feast.

Once the feast was over, we got our trunks and boarded the train to go back home. Amanda went into a compartment with her friends and I went with Connie and Sasha. We eventually got home and once we went through the barrier back to the muggle world, Connie pulled me aside.

"Armin?" he asked as he pulled on my shirt. I turned around and he looked like he was nervous.

"What's up?" I asked and he looked behind me. Sasha was greeting her parents and she waved to us before she left. Once she was gone, I turned back to Connie.

"I... I think I fancy Sasha," he confessed. I gasped and grabbed his shoulders.

"That's so cute! You have to ask her out!" I beamed. He blushed and looked at me like I was crazy.

"Are you mad? I'd have to be insane to do that!"

"You'll never know if you don't ask her. You'll have plenty of opportunities next year. You guys are made for each other!" I clapped my hands together and smiled. Connie grabbed my wrists and forced me to calm down.

"I'm not exactly bursting with confidence," he told me. Amanda came through the barrier and gestured towards the entrance.

"Think about it and write to her," I said and pat his shoulder. "Keep me updated over the summer," I finished and turned, waving at him before leaving.

 


	18. 3rd Year, Summer

~Eren POV~

We finished finals and went home for the summer. Dad said that we'd continue the conversation we had in the corridor when we got home, but he waited two weeks before he brought it up again. I was in my room reading over some letters friends sent me before my dad came in.

"Eren," he began. "Come." He led me to the dining room and sat down.

"You were right. I shouldn't be picking favourites. So I have something I'd like to give you," he stated and gave me a piece of parchment. Confused, I examined it. It had many folds like a booklet, but when I opened it, it was blank.

"Thanks..." I couldn't tell if this was some sick joke or not.

"You misunderstand," He replied and took out his wand. _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,"_ he chanted and tapped the parchment in my hands.

Ink spread throughout the paper and I stared at it in awe.

 _"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present_ _The Marauders Map,_ _"_ I read from the page.

"I've been holding onto this for a long time, son. And now, I'm passing it to you." I looked up at him and his expression was serious. I opened the map and it showed the entire Hogwarts grounds. After farther inspection, I noticed a few corridors that I had never seen or heard of before.

"Does the headmaster know about this?" I asked. He shook his head.

"If you are going to go sneak out at night, at least don't damage the family name. No one knows about those secret corridors except for your mother and me, and now you," he notified. "That's not all this map does. You can't see it now, but this map shows where everyone is and where they're going as long as they are in the Hogwarts grounds," he explained. "I must ask you to keep this map a secret. This is something that some people may kill for. When you're done using it, all you do is say _'Mischief Managed'_." He tapped the map with his wand again and the text disappeared. "Try it."

"I'm not allowed to use magic."

"The Ministry of Magic assumes it's either your mother or me that is using magic. They tie the tracer to the house so as long as I'm here, you won't get into trouble." I pulled out my wand and did what he said.

 _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_ I tapped the map and the text appeared again. _"Mischief Managed."_ The text disappeared.

"I hope you'll use this map responsibly," Dad concluded.

"I will. Thank you, Father," I replied.  
  
  


~Reyna POV~

Summer passed by fast and soon, I got my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. I'm Reyna Songal, the youngest of the family. Bailey was spoiled from a young age since she was the first daughter. Now, she expects jewels and money whenever she asks for it. Mum didn't make the same mistake with me. The only piece of jewellery I wear is a watch attached to a necklace. It's one of the products that we sell but it's not very popular. This watch has the solar system and where they are in their orbit around the sun in real time. I haven't met someone who understands it. I'm the only person I know that can read the time from this watch.

Mum has been running the Songal clothing company since Father died when I was 6. My brother Andreus, or Andy, is preparing to inherit the company. He's been studying charms twice as hard for it, as most of our products are enchanted with magic. I was in my room at my desk fixing my watch one day when Andy knocked on the door.

"Reyna, we're going to Diagon Alley," he informed already dressed up and wearing his grey and black scarf with brown undertones. It used to be our father's. He never takes it off, even in the summer. He takes good care of it. Even after all these years it still looks silky.

"Okay, give me a minute," I replied and finished up. I put my watch back around my neck and we made our way to The Leaky Cauldron. Once in Diagon Alley, we went to Ollivanders for my wand. The wand that chose me was a Sycamore wood, Phoenix feather core, 13 inches, and good flexibility. We later went to the book shop to get our textbooks.

Bailey went by herself and Andy stuck with me to get my books. Once we had everything we needed, we went to look for Bailey. We found her staring down two people with platinum blonde hair. One was a Ravenclaw boy and the other was a Slytherin girl with glasses.

"Bailey, we're ready to go," I informed as I approached her.

"Ah! Reyna! Just in time! Let me introduce you to the Arlerts." The boy rolled his eyes and shook his head before picking up another book. "As you can see, they buy second-hand books and-"

"Bailey," Andy interrupted. "You're making a fool out of yourself."

"Let's go," The boy said to the girl and grabbed her shoulder. Andy nudged Bailey towards the register and I followed.

"Are we going to the Quidditch store next? I'm going to try out for the team," Bailey rambled.

"Of course. What broom do you want?" Mum inquired.

"A Firebolt. I want to be the fastest in the school."

"There's no guarantee that you'll make the team. Do you really want to spend that much on a chance?" I questioned.

"Hush! You don't understand, Reyna. You're too young." I rolled my eyes and we checked out.

~Amanda POV~

Summer passed and we were on our way to 9 3/4. Armin got a letter from the school about 'Hogsmeade'. It's a town close to Hogwarts that has many shops and restaurants. 3rd-year students and above are allowed to go on set weekends and splurge as long as their parents or guardian signs a permission slip. Armin said he doesn't plan on spending much money if any at all but just wanted to be able to be with his friends.

We arrived at Kings Cross and were making our way to the platform. I noticed next to the platform, Theo was sitting on his trunk in muggle clothes with Amber on his lap. He was looking down at the ground and people just passed by him. I told Armin to go ahead of me and I walked up to Theo.

"Hey," I spoke softly and sat on my own trunk next to him. He didn't reply and continued to pet Amber. I started to think about things that could make him that depressed. After some thought, one struck me in worry. "Your dad..." He continued to stare at the ground, but he nodded his head.

"He's permanently checked into St. Mungo's..." he murmured.

"You could have sent an owl."

"I didn't know what to say..."

"And now _I_ don't know what to say..." _What would make him feel better?_ I wondered.

"You don't have to say anything," he sighed. I reached out and rubbed his shoulder. We sat silently for a moment.

"...Is there anything I can do to help?"

"...Come to the funeral when it happens," he spoke softly.

"Yes, of course..." I replied. He took a deep sigh and rubbed Amber behind her ear. "...Come on. Let's board the train." I pat his shoulder and stood up. He put his cat in her carrier and stood up to pass through the barrier.

~Reyna POV~

We got to 9 3/4 late thanks to Bailey insisting she wax her broom three times before we left. We got on the train, but none of us were in a compartment when the train started moving. Bailey said she needed to go to the Slytherin car and that I couldn't go, because,

"Only Slytherins are allowed in there and you haven't been sorted. You can join on the way home once you're sorted into Slytherin." I was secretly hoping I wouldn't get Slytherin. I already have to live with Bailey, I'm not about to spend every second with her in the common room. I had lost Andy at this point so I just looked for an empty compartment. Many of them were full because we were late so I kept an eye out for one with the least amount of people. I found one with three people in it and decided that was the best I was going to get. I opened the door and they all looked at me.

"Do you mind? I don't have anywhere else to sit?"

"Sure," The girl with short black hair replied. I pulled my trunk in and closed the door.

"What's your name?" The boy with mocha skin asked.

"Reyna," I replied. They didn't need to know my last name. I didn't want to look like that white rich girl that Bailey presents herself as.

"I'm Nathan. I'm new to the wizarding world. Both of my parents are muggles," he replied. I looked over to the tan boy with toffee hair next to me.

"Ian," he said.

"Vanessa," The girl informed.

"Nice to meet you," I greeted. I lifted my watch to check the time. 11:23:48. This ride was far from over. I slouched back and tried to get comfortable.

"What's that?" Ian asked pointing at my watch.

"It's a planetary watch. Not many people can read it but it's more accurate than traditional ones," I explained.

"Can I see it?" he asked. I took it off my neck and handed it to him. Vanessa and Nathan leaned over to look at it.

"How accurate is it?" Vanessa questioned.

"It's twice as accurate as a nanosecond, which is a billionth of a second (.000000001). So, that means this watch is as accurate as within an exasecond, (.000000000000000001), amazing right?" Not many people were interested in the watch so I was getting excited that they were curious. After explaining, they all looked at me in utter confusion.

"...I'm not even going to pretend I understood that," Ian spoke up.

"It's math. Most witches and wizards don't know about it," I sighed.

"Muggles are taught math in schools. It's not very fun," Nathan told us. We talked and learned about each other throughout the ride.  
  
  


~Armin POV~

After riding to the castle on the carriages, we sat in our respective tables and waited for the first years to enter for the sorting. Everyone was talking when the doors opened but instead of Professor Reiss and the first years, it was a tall girl with bronze skin and raven black hair. Everyone was silent and confused. She wasn't wearing Hogwarts robes and she definitely wasn't a first year judging by her height. All of her clothes seemed to be made of fine sky blue silk. Skirt, shirt, robe, everything. She stared back at all of us, completely unamused. She seemed like she didn't want to be there. Some people weren't interested and went back to talking, but most of us watched her.

She clutched her hands behind her back and started walking with high posture, swaying her shoulders slightly. The hall was quiet enough and she was loud enough for us to hear her heels click and echo. She walked over to the space between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables and stopped at Amanda and me. We were both facing away from the table so we probably stood out. We were also staring at her. She looked back and forth between us without uttering a word. The three silver bracelets she had on her right arm were shining as if they were screaming 'You're poor!' at me.

"...Can I help you?" Amanda asked and this mysterious girl whipped her head to her.

 _"Casse-toi,"_  she hissed and resumed walking. Hearing her speak gave away some clues about her. She was a foreign exchange student from France and a bit of a git. She sat down with Songal and Rao and gradually, people went back to talking. The first years eventually poured in and the Sorting Ceremony began.  
  
  


~Reyna POV~

After what seemed like an eternity, we made it to the Great Hall for the sorting. I've heard that the Sorting Hat rarely lectures about where to put students, but it was taking ages.

"How curious... A very loving individual, yet, bursting with bravery. Better be... GRYFFINDOR!" it rambled for Nathan as an example. His last name was Hayes so he didn't have to wait long to be called up.

"Kerr, Vanessa."

"Ah! Yes, I sense cunningness in this one. But no value in ambition. I know just what to do with you... RAVENCLAW!" I took out my wand and rolled it between my fingers as I waited. _S_ was a long way from _K_.

"Oakley, Ian." Now I had no one to talk to while I waited for my turn.

"Oh! What a loyal young man! I sense bravery as well. But a high value in being clever. RAVENCLAW!" It was starting to look like Nathan was being left out in Gryffindor. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot. This was taking forever! Student after student until finally,

"Songal, Reyna." I sighed in relief and put my wand back in my robe. The hat was put on my head and the first thing it said was,

"Hmm..." I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

_Why do you always take so long?_

"Pushy one, I see."

 _No one needs to know what you're seeing in me._ I thought.

"Don't sass me, little girl," it suddenly said and I straightened up. Many of the students laughed.

 _I've been here all night!_ I defended in my thoughts.

"Is that pride I sense?" it asked. I went into a small panic. Pride is one of the Slytherin traits.

 _Not Slytherin. Don't make me suffer from Bailey._ I begged.

"Not Slytherin? Why Slytherin is an amazing house. There's no doubt about that. Salazar Slytherin himself is the one who enchanted me with Legilimency so I could sort everyone with its mind reading power."

 _Please, just put me somewhere. This is taking forever!_ I closed my eyes and blushed. Bailey was for sure going to lecture me for not wanting Slytherin.

"Ah! I see it now. A genius in the making. I know where you belong... RAVENCLAW!" I opened my eyes and sighed with a smile. It was finally done. I could sit down with my housemates and new friends.

**_Reyna, Andy, Nathan, Ian, Vanessa, and our mysterious student all belong to_ ** **_[Spitty-Screech](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Spitty-Screech) _ **

 


	19. Secrets That You're Keeping

~Eren POV~

Everything felt like it was going well for the most part. The prefects did their jobs and we studied hard. I took notice of one particular student who seemed to be alone. He was that Nathan Hayes who got sorted this year. He pushed a lot of people his age away and looked distressed about something. The prefects didn't seem to notice so I decided to try approaching him one night.

He was sitting alone on the sofa doing homework and I grabbed my books and sat down next to him. He took notice of my presence but didn't say anything. I took out my parchment and started to work, but decided that he could get up and leave so I ought to make a move now.

"Do you need any help?" I offered.

"No," he replied. I put my quill down and turned to him.

"You're a first year, aren't you?" He nodded his head. "I'm Jaeger. Welcome to Gryffindor," I greeted and held out my hand for a handshake. He took my hand but didn't shake it. I just moved his limp hand up and down.

"Why Gryffindor?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Why did it put me in Gryffindor? Can I change my house?"

"No, you can't. You're sorted into a house and you have to stay there for the next 7 years," I explained. He sighed and leaned back. "Do you want to be somewhere else?"

"All of my friends are in Ravenclaw. What's the point of being here?"

"You don't like it here in Gryffindor?" I inquired. He stayed silent. "I won't be offended. You can tell me."

"Yeah, I hate it here," he admitted.

"You know, I was just like you when I was in first year," I told him. "I didn't like it here either. I wanted Slytherin, but I was sorted into its rival house."

"Why did you want Slytherin? They're full of selfish people," he said with a slight cringe.

"That's what everyone else told me," I explained. "It isn't a bad house. I wanted it because my dad was sorted there. But I was sorted here where my mum went."

"My parents are muggles."

"Well, they should be proud that they have a brave son. The thing that makes us different is that we have bigger guts than any of the other houses. And no matter what, someone is going to have your back. You'll still be able to see your friends in Ravenclaw. I've got one in there myself. But you'll make more friends here too," I said. He shrugged and thought about it. "We're all here to help. Just ask whenever you need it."

"Thanks." I packed up and went upstairs to my dorm. No one was there so I pulled out the map and my wand.

 _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_ I opened the map and found Armin's name in the Ravenclaw common room. It was an odd feeling. Ever since the Forbidden Forest, I've been feeling weird. I always knew I had a thing with boys but Armin was really giving me a different feeling. I couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard I tried. He was skilled and attractive. What's there not to like? Over the summer, I found myself reading his letters over and over again when I was bored. It took me a bit, but I decided that I was gay. I wasn't sure if I fancied Armin, but I knew I wasn't interested in girls. I watched his name as he wandered around. I heard footsteps and folded it back up. _"Mischief Managed."_ I put the map away and Jean came in.

"Hey, Eren."

"Hey, Jean," I greeted. He walked over to his bed and started smoothing down the sheets. "...Jean?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been having this problem for a couple of years."

"Do you need help?"

"No, I've recently resolved it."

"Okay...? Why are you-"

"Jean, I'm gay," I blurted out. He turned around and looked at me, completely shocked.

"...You're joking."

"No, I'm not," I corrected. We stared at each other silently for a moment before he went back to making his bed. I got up and started doing mine as well. It felt awkward. I didn't know if he was having a good or bad reaction.

"...Of all people, you end up being a twink...?" he mumbled under his breath. He obviously didn't want me to hear it, but I did.

"What did you just call me?" I snapped and turned around.

"What?" he asked and groaned.

"I asked you a question. You heard me!" I shouted.

"You don't act like you're gay. Are you trying to get attention?"

"Excuse me!" I huffed and threw my arms down. "What kind of wanker says they're gay for attention? That is the stupidest thing that has ever come out of your mouth!"

"Are you trying to distance yourself from your father?"

"You leave my father out of this! What did you call me a twink for?"

"You take offence to that?"

"YES! I do! Idiot!" I retorted.

"You know what? Sod off! I'm not going to waste my time with you!" he shouted back. I grabbed my supplies and stomped to the door.

"Bitch!" I spat before slamming the door and running to the common room. 

~Amanda POV~

Quidditch tryouts came up and I was already planning on going to them before the year started. Theo went with me to try out as well and we waited for the captain, Levi, to start. Jade came with us, but she had no plans in trying out. She just came to support us. Songal was there too, waxing her expensive Firebolt and showing it off to everyone. I kept an eye on Braun. He was still part of the team and still had a thing for me. At one point, the git had the nerve to wink at me and I cringed so hard. Levi eventually came out and we got started.

"Alright, let me introduce you to our team. I am the captain, Levi, and I'll be deciding your fate today. I'm currently the only Chaser, as our other two have graduated.

Bertholdt Hoover and Reiner Braun here are our Beaters. Annie Leonhardt is our Keeper, and our Seeker is Mikasa Jaeger. She is busy right now, but she will be joining us momentarily. Now! Who would like to go first?" he asked. Songal pushed past Theo and me and walked up to Levi.

"I've got the fastest broom here. I'll make us win this season!" She crowed and showed off her broom. Levi raised an eyebrow.

"And you are...?"

"Bailey Songal! I'll crush the others!" she sneered.

"What did you get in flying last year?" Levi quizzed.

" _A,_ but the teacher was biased. The only people who got _O's_ were favourites," she accused. Theo and I chuckled and covered our mouths. Levi gave a sarcastic smile and nodded his head before his face displayed sheer rage.

"Get out," he ordered. He didn't shout, but even then he sounded menacing. Songal gasped and looked at him.

"I haven't even tried yet-"

"An _A_ in flying and you think you can get on the Quidditch team? I only take the best and an _A_ is absolutely unacceptable!" Now he was shouting. You really don't want to get on his bad side. Mikasa had arrived in the middle of the commotion with a cup of black tea. She noticed Levi was mad and she went over next to Annie.

"I can improve-"

"Everyone knows who you are! Bailey Songal, confirming all those stereotypes and damaging Slytherin's image! Even if you were good, I wouldn't let you on the team. We're all trying to repair the damage that was caused to our house thanks to the war, but you keep setting us back. You'll ruin our reputation more than you already have! Get lost!" he shouted at her and she finally left. Levi sighed and facepalmed. No one said anything for a moment and let him cool down. A few moments later, Mikasa approached him and gave him the cup. "Thank you," he said and took a sip from it.

"Anyways..." Annie mumbled and scratched her neck.

"My apologies. Now we can get started. Who would like to go first?"

"I'll go," Theo volunteered.

"What's your name?"

"Theon Foster."

"Grade in flying?"

"Outstanding."

"Mount your broom, Foster. I hope you're ready," Levi ordered.

"Good luck," I whispered. He looked at me and smiled. He was confident.

"Up!" He summoned his broom and flew up. I watched from the sidelines and cheered him on. Jade also cheered for him and he occasionally looked back at us to wave. He scored 4 out of 5 hoops and managed not to get hurt. He came down massaging his left wrist and sat down next to me.

"I'm impressed. That was an excellent performance, Foster," Levi complimented.

"Thank you," Theo replied.

"Who would like to go next?"

"I'll go." Another student jumped up and went to Levi. I let people go before me so I could observe and do my absolute best. Levi asked the same questions to all of them. Their name and what grade they got in flying. The other students tried out and eventually, it was my turn.

"Name?"

"Amanda Arlert."

"Grade?"

"Outstanding."

"Mount your broom."

"Up!" I shouted.

"I'll go easy just for you," Braun purred as I climbed onto my broom. I gave him an obvious look of disgust and kicked off the ground. The Quaffle was released and I immediately seized it. I was on the school's broom which was much slower than the others. I went at its top speed and focused on dodging the Bludgers and holding onto the Quaffle. Annie blocked my first attempt, but I got an idea on how they moved. The second time around, I managed to get a steal and make it past Annie to score. Jade and Theo started waving at me and clapping. I was to high up to hear them if they were cheering. I scored three more making my final score 4 out of 5, the same as Theo's.

"Another great performance," Levi complimented.

"Thank you," I replied. Theo and I had the most scores out of everyone. By the time we got down, Levi already made his decision.

"Arlert and Foster, congratulations. You two made the cut."

"I can't wait to see you guys kick some Gryffindor arse in November! Congratulations!" Jade hit us both in the shoulder and chirped.

"Everyone else must leave the field. We'll be having a meeting with our new members," Levi announced.

"See you guys in the Great Hall," Jade whispered before walking off. All the other members of the team formed a line in front of us.

"Now, both of your performances were very good, but we do things differently in practice," Annie said and pulled up a different box that had Levi's initials on the lid. He opened it and everything looked the same as the ones in the other box.

"We use these instead." Levi picked up the Quaffle. "This weighs five pounds. It's a lot harder to throw than you think. Foster, why don't you give it a try." Theo walked up and he gave him the heavier Quaffle. He turned and used only his left hand to throw it. He threw it about 5 feet.

"You might make a better throw with your right hand," Braun suggested.

"Braun, it would be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut," I replied and Theo went to get the Quaffle.

"We practice Tuesday and Wednesday every week at 5:00 sharp. If I'm unable to show up for any reason, Mikasa takes over and I expect the same amount of respect as you would give me. After every practice, we all take mandatory showers and we will all have one after this meeting. Any concerns?"

"I actually have one," I answered and put my hand up.

"Yes?"

"That one over there..." I pointed to Braun. "He has a thing for me and it's disgusting."

"What do you mean?" Levi asked.

"For starters, he's 14 and I'm 12. And when I was 11, he asked me if he could follow me to my bed." Everyone's jaw dropped in disgust. Levi looked over at Braun in disbelief.

"I didn't say that!" he defended.

"Reiner, you really did and it clearly makes her uncomfortable! How you fail to see that is beyond me," Bertholdt disagreed.

"Can it be a rule that he's not allowed within a 5-foot radius of me?" I asked.

"Yeah, that is just sickening. There will be none of that when I'm around. Behaviour like that would damage our image. If he says anything that makes you uncomfortable, come to me and I'll remove him. Replacements can be easily made. And I give you permission to use your wand if he gets to close. Anything else?" None of us said anything.

"Good. Now, what our concern is if you can afford a broom. You can't play with the school ones so, do any of you have a broom at home?" Mikasa asked.

"I can probably get one. Are there any recommendations?" Theo inquired.

"Nimbus 2001. It's the best broom you can get for the price. And you?" She turned to me.

"My brother has a Cleansweep he doesn't use anymore..." I informed. Mikasa looked at me and shook her head.

"No. A Cleansweep isn't fast enough. I can get you a Nimbus. We're going to win this year," she promised. I looked at her and blinked.

"You're... You're just going to get me one?"

"Don't worry. It's a gift. I only ask that you use it well by training hard," she answered. I couldn't think of what to say for a moment.

"I-... Thank you."

"Alright. Showers, everyone," Levi announced.

"Come on. We'll show you to the girls," Annie offered.  
  


Later on in September, Theo, Jade, and I joined the duelling club put together by Professor Jaeger. I volunteered for a duel thinking I could choose my opponent, but Jaeger chose for me.

"Rao, come and duel Arlert," he called and she walked up with the most condescending smirk on her face. "1... 2... 3!"

 _"Rictusempra!"_ I struck first and hit her with the tickling jinx. Her body compressed a little bit, but she held her breath and stopped herself from laughing.

 _"Finite Incontatum!"_ she choked out and she regained her stance.

"What? We don't learn that until next year! How do you know that?" I asked.

"My parents taught me. There's also the simple fact that I'm better than you. _Petrificus Totalus!"_ she shot back at me and I dodged her attack. Any jinx that I threw at her she would immediately lift from herself. I thought back to what spells Armin used in his duel with Jaeger. _Serp_ _e_ _nsortia_ bought him some time and he wrote it down in his charms book that he gave to me, as it wasn't part of the curriculum.

 _"Serpensortia!"_ I summoned the snake and hoped it could do something. Rao wasn't even phased by it. She put her wand away and slowly walked to the snake. What came out of her mouth was nothing but a ghostly hiss.

 

The snake didn't strike at her. Rao continued to hiss at the snake and other students whispered to each other. Songal looked at me with an evil grin on her face. I looked back at the stage and saw that Rao had a similar smile. The snake turned around and started to slither towards me.

 _"Immobulus!"_ I stunned the snake and Professor Jaeger got rid of the snake.

"She's a parselmouth!" One student shouted out. I looked in the direction of the voice, but couldn't find who said it. Theo looked at me with worry on his face.

"What's a parselmouth?" I asked and Rao laughed manically.

"It's a person that can speak the language of the snakes, parseltongue. Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth. Did you know he built the Chamber of Secrets? Do you even know what the Chamber of Secrets is?" Rao bragged.

"Yes! It's a chamber that held a Basilisk until it was killed," I spat back.

"It's to bad it was destroyed back in the '90s. That way we could rid this place of mudbloods like you! Salazar Slytherin would be proud."

"You think that's something to brag about? Salazar Slytherin was a horrible person! He supported the torment of muggle-borns. The only respectable thing he did was create the house of Slytherin where we value ambition, _not_ genocide!" Jade shouted out. Most of the Slytherins, including myself, nodded our heads. People in the other houses were surprised to see this. Talking trash about the very person who made our house. But it was true. Almost all of us disagreed with his beliefs and Jade couldn't have said it better. Rao scoffed and put her hand on her hip.

"If I were in India right now, I would be treated like a goddess!" she huffed.

"That's enough! Detention tomorrow night, Arlert and Bythe," The professor interrupted. Tomorrow was Wednesday. Theo, Mikasa, and I groaned.

"Father, she has Quidditch practice tomorrow!" Mikasa argued. Before he could reply, Songal stomped her foot.

" _You!_ Made it onto the Quidditch team? A _mudblood?"_ she screeched and I stared back at her. I didn't say anything. I was already in trouble.

"Well, she'll have to practice some other time. Please, exit the stage." Rao and I jumped down and Theo grabbed my shoulder.

"Let's go. I'd rather be in the common room," he whispered.

"Yeah, I've had enough of this," I replied.

 


	20. In the Closet

~Theo POV~

Professor Jaeger didn't negotiate with us to give Amanda a different detention time that would let her attend practice. Practice was much harder than the tryouts thanks to the heavier Quaffle. I could barely throw it with just my left hand, let alone, get it past Annie. Braun was also annoying. Because Amanda was gone that night, he got close to me and kept asking me questions about her. It was hard to put up with. It made me just as uncomfortable as she feels. It... It made me _jealous._ I don't know why. It just _did_.

"Does she fancy anyone? Do _you_ fancy her?" That one was the last straw. I shot him a glare and he raised an eyebrow. I was about to shout at him to shut his mouth, but Levi threw the Quaffle at me and I caught it with a little bit of a hard attempt.

"Fly! You fools!" he ordered and I flew away from Braun. That night was quite lousy thanks to Braun's big mouth. I took the stall farthest away from him in the showers once we were done. I finished up as fast as possible and tried to leave. I was holding my robe and pulling my shirt down as I left my stall.

"Wow, you're hairless," Braun smirked as I approached the door. I quickly pulled my shirt down and turned to him to see him in a bathrobe. I knew he had a disgusting thing for Amanda, but what was so interesting about me?

"Reiner, he's also 12," Bertholdt added.

"Why do you keep talking to me? Why am I so interesting all of a sudden?" I asked and pushed my arm through my robe.

"You're friends with Amanda. She won't talk to me so you're the only way I can learn more about her," he reasoned. I thought that his feelings towards her were disgusting by itself, but talking about her in a _bathrobe?_ It made me feel sick.

"Braun! I'm starting to think you're downright _obsessed_ with her! Just because she isn't here right now doesn't mean you get to talk about her like that. It's revolting! I wasn't joking when I said I'd remove you if that behaviour continued. Don't make me do it," Levi called out. Braun scoffed and crossed his arms. I didn't stick around to hear his response. I was done with him for one night.  
  
  


~Armin POV~

One of our Beaters graduated and we needed to hold another tryout. One of Amanda's friends, Gabi, came to the tryouts and she ended up getting the role. Connie still had an evergrowing love for Sasha and I started purposely leaving them alone and studied with Eren. I made them work together in potions and I soon found out that Sasha also took Divination and we had the class together. Divination is one of the electives at Hogwarts and you learn to predict the future with tea leaves and crystal balls. All students 3rd year and above are required to take two. Connie and I took Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Sasha took the same classes, but we had Magical Creatures with Gryffindor and she had it with Slytherin.

It was unclear if she fancied him, but I was hoping she did and waiting for Connie to ask her out. Hogsmeade was the perfect place for a date, but the first weekend for Hogsmeade wasn't until December. Studying with Eren had its perks. He excelled in Care of Magical Creatures and was the first one to successfully approach a Hippogriff. He also had DA before I did and he gave me a couple of tips before I had the class.

"We're doing boggarts this week. Have you heard of them?"

"No." He opened up the textbook and gave it to me, pointing at a paragraph to read.

"They take the form of your worst fear. The only way to dispell them is to make whatever your fear is funny and cast _Riddikulus,"_ he explained. "It sounds easy, but it really isn't. Several students in my class couldn't cast it. The only thing I can say is that if your worst fear is a person, your best bet is to imagine them in a flower crown saying 'I love rainbows,' or something." I laughed at the thought of someone like his dad saying that. I had no doubt that he was someone's boggart.

"A creature that turns into someone's worst fear... How traumatized is the class now?" I asked.

"Well, it's not as bad as you think. My dad is better at explaining it, but some people got quite emotional. I mean, what's your worst fear?" I looked down to think about his question. My thoughts turned to Amanda. She made it onto the Quidditch team and was playing in a couple of weeks. I remembered at last year's Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game, the Keeper got a Bludger to the gut and fell off her broom. I imagined Amanda in that state, only much worse. The image in my head was my sister on top of her broom lying motionless and face down. I flinched and had a sudden intake of breath. "Exactly," Eren spoke up and snapped me back to reality.

"Well, thanks for the heads up. I'll try not to lose points."

"Hah! Good luck with that!" he joked and I laughed.   
  
  


I read about Boggarts before going to the class. I still listened up for Professor Jaeger's lecture so I could do my best. He had a dresser in front of the class and some charts on the blackboard. The dresser shook back and forth. Something was in it and wanted to get out.

"Boggarts turn into the viewer's worst fear. To get rid of them, you must make your fear funny and cast _Riddikulus_. When facing one, it's best to have someone with you to confuse it. Should it turn into your report card with all _T's?_ Or your best friend's sibling laying motionless on the ground? Turn to page 133 and read the first three paragraphs. Once you're done, close your books, we will face one when everyone is done," he announced.

I already read it, but I went over it again. When it comes to Professor Jaeger, the smallest things can get you detention. I finished and closed my book. Connie and Sasha were also done as well as a few other students. I was sure my boggart was going to turn into Amanda after a Quidditch accident. I was trying to think of how to make it funny. Turn her into a mannequin? No... Make it so it was actually a guy in a wig? That one was scary more than anything.

"Alright! Everyone to the front," Jaeger ordered. We obeyed and he pushed all of our desks back with his wand. "Springer, you were the first to finish. You go first." We all moved back in front of the desks and Connie stayed with Jaeger. "Now, I want you to think of your worst fear and make it funny. We're all going to back up and when you're done, I'll call the next person. The stage is yours," He announced and backed away. With a flick of his wand, the dresser opened and a werewolf walked out. Connie had raised his wand, but the wolf caused him to freeze up. He soon got himself back together and cast the spell.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ The werewolf turned into a puppy trotting around as if looking for a toy. A bunch of 'aww's came from the people behind.

"Blouse! You next!" The professor called. Sasha drew her wand and walked up to the boggart with confidence. It turned into a boy much taller than her. He was very muscular and must have been a muggle, as he didn't have any robes.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ Suddenly, he was dressed in a muggle woman's nightgown and began dancing like an idiot. A roar of laughter came from us and she walked back to us in triumph.

"Bott!"

"That was _brilliant!_ You have no clue how satisfying that was!" She beamed when she came back to us.

_"Riddikulus!"_

"Reiss!"

"That was a bully from the muggle schools. He looked so _stupid!"_ she rambled on with a big smile. We smiled with her.

_"Riddikulus!"_

"Arlert!" he called me up. I drew my wand and realized I didn't have any ideas for my boggart. I approached it slowly and tried to think of something. Nothing came to mind and I looked at Historia's fixed boggart. It was a report card with all _O's_ then it turned into my sister. Seeing it in person was a lot worse than when I imagined it. She was face down on her Nimbus 2001, but there was more. She was bleeding. Blood was stained on her platinum blonde hair. Her glasses were smashed next to her head. A Bludger was next to her hip and she wasn't moving. I froze up and my breathing became more difficult. The professor said something that snapped me back to reality.

 _"Ri-riddikulus,"_ I murmured. Something went wrong because it turned into Alba. She had a letter on her leg, but her wings seemed to be broken. She was hooting in pain and bleeding out. "No-" I almost turned to ask someone for a healing spell, but Jaeger raised his voice.

"Arlert! Don't lose focus!"

"Armin! You can do this!" Connie and Sasha were shouting words of encouragement, but the sight was just too much for me.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ Jaeger ended up casting it for me and I didn't even stay to see what she turned into. I put my wand away and raced to one of the seats. I sat down and buried my face into my hands.

"Armin!" Connie sat down next to me and I looked up to see Sasha standing in front of us.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Arlert, ten points. That was pathetic," Jaeger announced before I could reply to her.

"I don't know..." I squeaked.

"Control your breathing," Connie ordered and put his hand on my shoulder. I steadied my breathing and tried to stop shaking and fidgeting. "Do you want to see Meaburn? She can give you a Calming Drought," Connie recommended.

"No... I just want to see my sister and Alba. How much longer is this class?"

"25 minutes. You think you can wait that long?" Sasha inquired.

"Yeah, I should be fine." Sasha sat down next to me and other students went up to face the boggart.

_"Riddikulus!"_

"You guys did great on your attempts," I complimented.

"Thanks..." Connie replied with a small smile that soon faded. He seemed depressed about something.

"What's wrong?" Sasha questioned.

"Nothing, just... The boggart got to me a little bit..." he sighed. His was a werewolf. Whatever happened must have been horrific.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sasha coaxed. I was curious about what happened as well. Connie laced his fingers together and leaned forward, resting his head on his hands.

"Did you ever notice that whenever I talk about my family, I only talk about my mum?" he quizzed. I stopped to think for a moment.

"Now that you mention it..."

"I used to have a dad and two siblings. Martin and Sunny. Our house was invaded by a werewolf. We still don't know how it found us or why. Some people suspected it had something to do with our blood status. Mum and I were able to escape, but my dad and siblings weren't as lucky..." he explained. His eyes were filled with nothing but remorse. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like if someone had attacked my family like that. "Martin was 7 and Sunny was 6. They didn't have a chance at surviving the attack. Dad tried to protect them, but he succumbed to his injuries," he trailed off.

"I'm so sorry... I can't even imagine..." I struggled to find the words. It was painful to even think about.

"We decided that it was for the best that they died. Being a werewolf is a painful life to live. I've read that turning into one under the full moon feels like death. Plus, Martin and Sunny would have faced a lot of bullying. The family name would have gone from pure blood to outcast and 'half-breed' to some," he sulked. He pulled out a pocket watch. Inside was a picture of his family which I had seen before, but now it had a completely different meaning. "Martin's birthday was a few months ago. He would have been 11. He would have gotten his acceptance letter last summer..." Connie stared at the picture as everyone with big smiles waved. Sasha moved to the other side of him and wrapped her arm around him. He got a little flustered, but soon smiled and wiped a tear from his eye. The bell eventually rang and we left the class for dinner.   
  


I ran into Amanda with Theo outside of the Great Hall and ran up to her and hugged her. She was caught by surprise but she hugged back.

"Armin, what is it?"

"Promise me you'll play safely in the game next fortnight?" I pulled away and cupped her face to look her in the eye. She looked confused but replied.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Why are you so scared about it all of a sudden?"

"Just be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

"She's been playing very well, but I can keep an eye on her if it makes you feel better," Theo offered.

"That'd be great. Thank you." I hugged her again and kissed her forehead before following Connie to the Ravenclaw table. Connie sat down and I grabbed an apple. "I'm going to the Owlery to see Alba. I'll meet you in the dorm after dinner," I told him.

"Okay, see you later." I went to the dorm to get my dragon hide gauntlets and some owl treats. I then left for the Owlery eating the apple on the way. I threw the core away in one of the bins in the corridor and climbed the steps to the Owlery.

"Alba!" I called out. She came flying down and I held out my left arm for her to perch on. I stroked her head as I walked to a wall to lean on. I gave her some treats and continued to pet her. "You travel safely every time you deliver a letter, right?" I asked her. She had no way of replying, but she hooted and rubbed her head into my hand. I heard footsteps from outside and looked up to see Eren.

"Your friends said I could find you here."

"Hey," I greeted. He walked towards me and leaned against the wall next to me.

"How did the class go?" he asked.

"I lost ten points," I started and he let out a small chuckle.

"He took some from me too."

"What was your boggart?"

"The Acromantula," he replied.

"Still shaken about last year?" He looked at me.

"You're not?"

"I guess not as much as I used to be. Now that you mention it though, I wouldn't be surprised it mine turns into that next time. I wasn't thinking about it before class."

"What was yours?"

"It first was my sister after a fatal Quidditch accident. I didn't cast the spell right and it turned into Alba suffering. I failed to cast the spell and lost points," I explained. He looked at me and hummed, nodding his head.

"Well, you'll do better next time. Now that you're familiar with it, it should be easier."

"Maybe I can get some points back," I replied and stroked Alba.

"Also, did you get your Hogsmeade slip signed?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I know it's not for a month, but all of my friends are going together and I'm stuck with my sister. I was wondering if you wanted to join us," he offered. I looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

 


	21. Quidditch Showdowns

~Armin POV~

Professor Jaeger made me study boggarts for homework that night. I planned on doing it anyway so I wouldn't fail next time. I even asked Hanji if she had any tips and she helped a lot. She even found a book about them in our common room library. We're the only house that has one. When we had DA again a few days later, Jaeger made me go first.

"I hope you did your homework, Arlert," he said in a low voice as I walked up.

"Don't worry, sir. I did what you asked." He looked at me and walked back to the other students. I was a little surprised he didn't take points for that. I did kind of sass him. I readied my wand and the closet opened. This time, the acromantula queen came out. I thought about my experience in the forest before going to class and it sent shivers up my spine. This time though, I had a plan.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ She turned into a tiny spider, but it was adorable. 50% of the body was in the eyes and it honestly looked at me like a puppy. "Oh!" I gasped out as others took notice of its cuteness. The next person was called up and I walked back to my friends. Connie and Sasha cheered my name as I approached them.

"You did great!" Sasha beamed.

"Blouse!" The professor called her up. As soon as she left, I dove down next to Connie.

"Have you asked her out yet?" I whispered. His face paled.

"No. Do you think other people have asked her?"

"I don't know, but you shouldn't risk it. What if someone does ask her out?"

"Armin, we can talk about this later. I really don't need my boggart turning into her rejecting me," he urged.   
  


~Eren POV~

November soon came and it was time for our first game of the season. Our team didn't change much. The only thing that was different was we had Jean and Oluo switch rolls. Jean was now the Seeker and Oluo was the other Beater. We all agreed that we could've won to Slytherin last year if he didn't bite his tongue. When it was decided that Jean would be the Seeker, we got him a Firebolt. Mikasa also asked our dad for a broom and he promised that this would be the last time he got brooms for anyone on our teams. Jean got the Firebolt before we had that argument. We weren't speaking to each other after that. I spent most of my time with Armin and I found out that he was hanging out with Bott thanks to the map. Armin made me promise to go easy on Amanda. He was still worried after seeing the boggart and I said I would aim for Mikasa instead.

~Reyna POV~

"I still don't get it." Ian, Vanessa (or Vani as she demanded I call her), Nathan and I decided to see the Quidditch game. Nathan was still learning more about magic and we tried our best to explain, but he still didn't understand. Bailey was salty about getting kicked out of tryouts and went to the game out of pure bitterness to, "Watch the four-eyed freak fail." We found a place to sit behind her and she was sitting with Nisha. She was also with the transfer student from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, Camila Asírós. She wore her silk robes as a protest against Hogwarts. She hated the school.

"Oh! You came with your friends!" She gasped when she saw us. Nisha also turned around and glared at Nathan for a moment. I guessed that she was annoyed that he was a Gryffindor.

"Who are zese people?" Camila asked with a sharp French accent.

"This is my little sister and her friends. Ian, Nathan, and Vanessa," Bailey explained.

"No, Vani," she corrected. "Everyone calls me that." When I told Bailey about my friends, I had called her Vanessa but she didn't like the name. I had never told Bailey. Nisha looked back at Nathan.

"Where were your parents sorted?" she quizzed.

"They didn't go to Hogwarts. They're muggles," Nathan explained confused at her staring. Nisha raised an eyebrow and turned around while Bailey looked like she discovered something life-changing.

"No wonder you're so clueless about everything! You're a mudblood!" she gasped.

I gasped, "Bailey!"

"Woah! Hold on, did you seriously just call him that?" Ian stood up and glared at Bailey. Nathan looked confused. He didn't know what it meant.

"What? Eet's zee truth," Camila protested.

"You don't go around calling people that!" Vani spat back.

 _"Especially_ not him!" Ian fumed still on his feet. "I'll bet you anything he's ten times better than you!"

"Excuse you, sir. You're talking to your upperclassmen," Nisha sneered and rolled her eyes.

"Respect is _earned_ and you clearly aren't worthy of it!" Ian hissed and turned to Nathan. "Come on. Let's sit somewhere else." He nudged Nathan and we left. Once we sat down, he finally asked.

"What does 'mudblood' mean?" He was completely unaware of how insulting it was.

"It's a vulgar slur for muggle-borns. It describes you as having filthy blood and no right to be a wizard," Ian explained.

"It's the equivalent of judging someone by their skin colour. Whatever that's called. It's not much of a problem in the wizarding world." Vani gave as an example. Nathan slumped his shoulders slightly.

"Racism?"

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry, Nathan. I didn't know she was saying things like that," I apologised. Now that he knew what it meant, it was clearly bothering him.

"No, it's not your fault..."

"Nathan," Ian grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Don't let anyone call you that. You're so much better than what they say." Nathan gave us a small smile.

"Thanks..."

~Amanda POV~

"Well, it's time." We were ready for the game and Levi was giving us a lecture. A tradition we have is before every Quidditch game, we arrive at the Great Hall dressed in our game robes and we all sit on one side of the table at breakfast. "We've trained hard and I want to see your best efforts out there. I do hope you two are better at throwing now." He gestured to Theo and me. We nodded our heads and he nodded back. He picked up his broom and we stood up. "I hope you're ready," he concluded and we stepped out.

 **"Welcome everyone! The time has come again to play Quidditch! Last year, Slytherin finished in second place and Gryffindor in third. On the Slytherin team, we have two new Chasers, Amanda Arlert and Theon Foster. On the Gryffindor team, they have simply made Jean Kirstein the Seeker and Oluo a Beater, which previously was the other way around."** Levi shook hands with the other captain and we mounted our brooms.

 **"The clock is set to 1 hour. If the Golden Snitch isn't caught within the time, the game ends."** A professor approached the box with all the balls and opened it.

 **"The Quaffle is released!"** I seized the Quaffle and kept a firm grip on it. **"Slytherin in possession."** I kept my eyes peeled for the opponent's Keeper and dove for a different hoop. I threw it, and I threw it hard. I had gotten used to the heavier Quaffle we use in practice and the lighter one went flying.

**"Slytherin scores! Once again taking an early lead!"**

"Yes!" I cheered to myself and watched as the scoreboard displayed 10 points for us. Theo held his hand out as he flew past and gave me a high five.

 **"Gryffindor Chaser Mina has the Quaffle."** Levi zipped past her and knocked the Quaffle from her hand. **"Steal by Levi from Slytherin! Levi throws the Quaffle to Theo."** Theo caught the Quaffle and threw it to one of the hoops, but the Keeper got there first.

 **"Save from Keeper Ymir!"** She didn't look amused. The Quaffle got her right in the gut and she hunched over it before throwing it to one of the chasers. **"Gryffindor in possession. 42 minutes on the clock."** I dove in for a steal, but I missed and the Quaffle was tossed over to their captain. **"Chaser Erwin from Gryffindor scores! The teams are now tied!"** I noticed that I wasn't having trouble with avoiding Bludgers and I looked around to see where they were. They were going around Mikasa many times and she was to busy with the Bludgers to focus on the snitch. I flew up to Bertholdt and got close enough for him to hear me. Luckily, Braun was somewhere else and I didn't have to deal with him.

"Aim at the other Beaters. They're throwing Mikasa off," I informed. He nodded his head and I flew away.

 **"Slytherin in possession."** Levi had the Quaffle and all of the other Chasers were going in for a steal. Levi's eyes glanced around at everyone for a moment before he shifted so that he was upside down on his broom. **"And Levi pulls off a flawless barrel roll! Scoring another 10 points!"** We were back in the lead. I looked back at Bertholdt and saw that he was talking to Braun, supposedly about my recommendation. They both split up and waited for the Bludgers. They hit them, and Mikasa was able to get back to focusing on the snitch. Eren lost some control of his broom and the other one...

 **"Beater Oluo seems to have bitten his tongue again,"** Ackerman announced. The rest of the team didn't lose focus and managed to seize the Quaffle. **"Gryffindor in possession."** Annie chased after the Chaser but she was too late. **"Chaser Mina scores!"** An eruption of cheers came from the people dressed in red. Theo got the Quaffle but the other Seeker made a sudden dive. Many people gasped and for a split second, I saw a golden sparkle in the distance.

 **"38 minutes are on the clock and the snitch has been spotted!"** We quickly refocused on the Quaffle and Theo scored while everyone was focused on the snitch. **"Another 10 points for Slytherin. Seekers are still on the snitch. Jean from Gryffindor is pulling ahead!"** I looked over to our Beaters and they both sent Bludgers to the Gryffindor Seeker.

 **"Jean has taken a hit! Mikasa from Slytherin is pulling ahead!"** The Slytherins in the stands let our cheers of encouragement. Mikasa was leaning forward and holding her hand out. Seconds later, she came to a full stop and then flew up. **"Mikasa has caught the snitch! The end score is 180 to 20 in favour of Slytherin! The serpent house once again wins the first game!"** People in the crowds were waving banners and flags with our colours. My first Quidditch season was off to a good start. 

~Sasha POV~

Last year, Hufflepuff suffered a major loss in Quidditch. I took most of the blame because I had failed to catch the snitch in all three games. I was surprised they let me come back and play this year after all the mistakes I made last year. I trained harder to prepare for the games. I was determined to make the rest of my team proud.

 **"Welcome back everyone! Today we have Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff marching onto the field to play. One of Ravenclaw's Beaters graduated and they now have Gabi Braun on their team. Hufflepuff has not made any changes to their team since last year."** Petra shook Rico's hand and we mounted our brooms.

 **"And the Quaffle is released!"** I didn't watch the game go down. I had one priority, to find the snitch. A Bludger came my way and I narrowly dodged it. Maybe avoiding the Bludgers would be a good idea. 5 minutes into the game and I saw it in the distance. I dove for it and Connie followed.

 **"The snitch has been spotted!"** We both rode the same broom, Nimbus 2000. We were neck to neck going for the snitch. I glanced over at his hand for a moment, but quickly went back to the snitch.

 _Don't get distracted! You can't afford to lose focus for a second!_ I reminded myself. I chased after it for a while before I felt it graze against my fingers. I got excited and leaned forward. My fingers slowly climbed over it and eventually, it was in my hand. I gasped and stopped my broom. I looked at the snitch in my hand and my hand started trembling. Before I could fly up and show everyone, I noticed Connie on the ground. My rush of excitement suddenly disappeared and I rushed over to him. Armin came up next to me just as panicked.

"What happened? I didn't see anything!" I shrieked. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams approached us and formed a circle around us. Armin turned Connie over and he was unconscious with scrapes on his face.

"I don't know... He suddenly flew off while you were chasing the snitch. I think he went to fast and his grip wasn't tight enough to keep him on his broom," Armin explained as his eyes darted back and forth trying to think of something to do.

"Let me through! Let me through!" Madam Meaburn and some professors pushed through the teams and kneeled down next to us. _"Ep_ _is_ _key!"_ She pointed her wand at his face and cleared all the scrapes he had. "He must be taken to the hospital wing right away! My choices are very limited out here!" She ordered and prepped to transport him.

"Come on, Sasha. Let's get dressed," Petra spoke before I could leave.

"But-"

"Calm down, there's nothing we can do about it," Marco lamented, but he shook his head and smiled. "On the bright side, it's our first win of the season! You did great!" The Ravenclaw team, including Armin, was already halfway across the field with Connie.

"But Connie... He-"

"You'll be able to see him later. Let's change into our normal robes," Nanaba interrupted and nudged me to the changing rooms.  
  
  


~Armin POV~

The rest of the team and I rushed to the hospital wing and put Connie on one of the beds. We all had to back up while Meaburn examined him. We stood by silently and watched, waiting to hear something. I stood in front of everyone and kept fidgeting, which they took notice of. I tried my best to not have a panic attack and control my breathing. After the longest two minutes of my life passed, she backed away from him with a face of relief.

"Nothing too major." I took a deep sigh and Hanji put her hand on my shoulder. "I can't do anything else until he wakes up. But I believe he will be okay."

"Thank you..." I exhaled and Meaburn let us approach him. I pulled up a stool next to him and everyone else stood. A few minutes passed and he eventually woke up. "Connie..." I whispered and everyone leaned forward.

"How are you feeling?" Rico asked and he sat up with a groan.

" Fine... I guess... Did we win?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"No... We almost had it..." Gabi murmured. "I should have hit their Seeker."

"Gabi, you did your best. Don't be so hard on yourself. You did much better than I did my first time," Zeke comforted. Meaburn came up and some of the team moved aside for her.

"Anything hurt?" she asked.

"A bit of everything," he replied. She went to the potions cabinet and came back with a simple clear potion.

"That should relieve the pain. It'll take a while though, and I'd prefer you stay here until everything's better."

"Yeah, I can stay. You guys go on. I'll be here a while," he agreed.

"I'll stay and take him back to the dorm when the potion starts taking effect," I informed. I still needed time to calm down. The rest of the team left and we sat in silence for a moment.

"...Did I scare you?"

"You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry!" Connie apologised, raising his hands in defence. I sighed and rested my head on my hand.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I just... I still need to calm down," I replied.

"Where's Sasha?"

"I don't know. We were focused on getting you here, I didn't notice she didn't follow," I explained. "Speaking of Sasha, I think she likes you."

"What?" He suddenly sat up.

"She was freaking out when you fell off. She didn't even show off the snitch to the crowd," I said. He leaned back and thought for a moment.

"When is the Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Next week," I informed. "You have to ask her."

"I-" he paused. "I haven't made a plan."

"You can work it out in the dorm. Are you feeling better yet?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go," he answered. He got up and we left the infirmary. Halfway down the corridor, Sasha came running in her casual Hufflepuff robes.

"Connie!" She exclaimed and attacked him with a hug. Connie stumbled a little bit and he froze. I looked at them in shock. If he didn't think she liked him before, he should now.

"Uh- I- Do-do we hug?"

"Shut-up!" she sighed and held onto him. Connie hugged her back and looked up at me. I gave him a thumbs up and smiled.

 _"Good luck,"_ I mouthed before leaving them.

 


	22. Hogsmeade

~Armin POV~

I went back to the dorm and waited for Connie to come back, hopefully with good news. When he did come back, I immediately ran up to him.

"Did you ask her out?" I asked hastily and grabbed his shoulders. He jumped and looked down.

"I didn't..."

"ARE YOU MAD?" I shouted and shook him. "That was the _perfect_ opportunity!"

"I panicked! I-"

"Okay, tomorrow we have double potions. You're pairing up with her and you're asking her there. Historia and I will be nearby. We'll make sure it happens, even if it means I ask her for you." Time was running out. He needed to act fast.

"Have you asked anyone?" he questioned.

"I was asked. I'm going with Eren and his sister. You and Sasha will have a table to yourselves."

"Wait, is it- romantic?"

"I don't think so. He wouldn't bring his sister if it was," I theorized. "Think about how you're going to ask her. It's happening tomorrow." He nodded his head and went to his bed. I sat down and started on my homework.  
  
  


The next day, we made our way to potions. It was double potions, meaning the class was an hour and forty-five minutes. He had plenty of time to work up the courage to ask her. As usual, we worked in pairs and I went over to Historia so Connie could work with Sasha. The entire time, I periodically looked at them. Connie eventually got the hint that I wasn't going to stop until he asked her.

"Hey, Sasha?" He tapped her shoulder and she stopped chopping up the ingredients. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade together? Armin said he's going with someone else." He said it clearly without stopping, but I could feel his anxiety from across the table. His face was going pale.

"Just the two of us?" Sasha asked. He glanced at me, but quickly went back to her.

"If that's what you want."

"Sure! Are we going to The Three Broomsticks? I've been looking forward to that place the most," she blurted out and tossed a few of the ingredients into the cauldron. I had to resist the urge to jump up and congratulate them.

"Uh- Yeah! Any place is fine with me," he replied and he began to blush.

"Great! I look forward to it!" she beamed. Connie just smiled and looked over to me. I could clearly see the relief wash over him and I gave him a thumbs-up. Finally, things were getting started for them. Historia also took notice and smiled at them. Once the class was over, I walked out with Historia and let Connie and Sasha plan their date.

"Are you going with anyone to Hogsmeade?" I asked as we walked down the corridor.

"No, I've been meaning to ask someone. I just haven't found the right time," she replied. I looked back up and noticed Ymir walking towards us. She looked at her, then to me. "Hey, Ymir," Historia greeted.

"Hi," she replied. I didn't know what was going on. She seemed to be blushing slightly and staring at Historia.

"Are you looking forward to the weekend?" Historia asked. Ymir blushed deeper and nodded her head. "Are you going with anyone?" She shook her head and her face went darker. I looked at Historia and she looked like she was taking notice of that. "Would it be weird if two girls went together?" Ymir was redder than her Gryffindor scarf and she suddenly yelled out.

"HOGSMEADE!" Everyone in the corridor froze. "You. Me. Saturday. Three Broomsticks. Noon?" Historia stared at her with her mouth slightly open and stayed silent. Fritz broke out in a run and Historia snapped back to reality.

"I'll see you then!" she shouted.

"Thanks!" Ymir replied without stopping or turning around. I looked back at Historia and she blinked.

"So..." I mumbled.

"I'm too gay for my own good," she sighed.  
  
  


The week passed by slowly and the excitement for Hogsmeade built up. Connie and I were getting ready for our dates and he was getting nervous.

"Connie, you'll do great. You don't have to tell her how you feel now. Just have fun," I said and patted his shoulder while we were getting ready.

"But- Armin, what am I supposed to do! What do I say to her?"

"Ask her things you don't already know about her. Heck, tell her about yourself. Have fun!" I repeated and wrapped my Ravenclaw scarf around my neck. I had finished getting ready at that point and walked towards the door. "Good luck. Tell me all about it tonight," I said before I left.

I met up with Eren and Mikasa right outside of Hogsmeade. They were wearing their designer brands and looked like they weren't affected by the snow. I shivered and quickly ran up to them.

They turned around and Eren had a coy grin on his face. "You made it!" he teased. I rubbed my shoulders and stopped in front of them.

"So... Where are we going? Three Broomsticks?" I suggested.

"Yes, please. I'm starving," Mikasa replied and walked to the gates without waiting for us. We showed the gatekeeper our permission slips and stepped through the gates.

We got to the Three Broomsticks early and found a good seat before people started to pile in. The main reason why we went there was for the butterbeer. It's all the older students talk about. Hanji told me to get it warm and I wasn't disappointed. It tasted like liquid butterscotch and it was at the perfect temperature to warm up after walking in the snow.

"I never really talk to you, Mikasa. Tell me something about yourself," I said to start a conversation.

"Well... I almost became an Obscurial when I was 10."

"Eren told me that quite a while ago," I replied. He turned to me and raised his eyebrow.

"I did?"

"Yeah, before the sorting ceremony in the boats while you were boasting about your blood status and how you were so certain you were going to be in Slytherin," I reminded him and took a sip of my butterbeer. Eren rolled his eyes and Mikasa started laughing.

"He did that?" she choked. I joined her in laughing as I remembered more of the details.

"Yeah! He was checking his reflection in the lake and was like, _I'm_ ** _positive_** _I'll be in Slytherin. My sister might not get placed there. She's not a pure-blood like_ ** _I_** _am._ " I bent down and ran my hand through my hair randomly. I overexaggerated my accent and pinched my nose to make my voice higher.

"I didn't sound like that!" he argued and I started laughing.

"You kind of did. You were 11." He shook his head and leaned back as he drank more of his butterbeer.

"Anyways, did he tell you the story?" Mikasa asked. I shook my head. "Alright! This is where it gets interesting. So... Many generations ago, my biological family was pure-blood. One side of it branched off and started marrying muggles and the other remained pure.

It got to the point where one of the children was a Squib, a person with wizarding ancestry, but no magical ability. That was my dad. He hated magic and detached from the family. When I was born, he didn't like that I had magic and forced me to suppress it. Thankfully, my current father heard about me before I killed someone or myself, and now I'm living with this loser." She pointed at Eren as she finished. Eren flared his nostrils and rolled his eyes.

"You just wish you were as good as us."

"I'm sorry, but who won the first Quidditch game and last year's house cup?" Mikasa quizzed and leaned forward.

"We lost those points because we were saving Armin's life and Kirstein is just as bad as Oluo at playing Seeker."

"And you got him a Firebolt?" she questioned.

"That git's existence is a mistake. I'm not seeing you winning against Hufflepuff," he replied. "And you're Mum and Dad's favourite child. You get double the points I get from them." I leaned back and held my mug to my lips as I watched them. If they were anything like Amanda and me, they were going to be at it for a while.

"Eren, you know that's a lie."

"Want to bet?" He stood up and put his hand on the table. "10 galleons. Next class we have with Dad, he'll award points to Slytherin first." Mikasa also stood up and put her hand on the table.

"Deal!" she replied. I slumped back and tipped my mug up to drink. Jeez, 10 galleons? That's worth about 50 pounds in muggle money.

 _Rich kids..._ I told myself and sighed. At this point, they both were sitting and thankfully didn't cause a scene.

"Mum doesn't give me double the points." They were still arguing though.

"Is that true, Armin? You have Herbology with Slytherin," Eren challenged and faced me.

"Well, your mum gives her the same amount of points as everyone else, but I don't think I've ever seen her take points from her," I pointed out, trying to not get involved too much.

"HA!" Eren shouted and pointed at Mikasa.

"So you're admitting that I'm the better student and my original argument that Gryffindors are losers?" she coaxed. I continued to sip my butterbeer and avert my eyes. Eren seemed to take notice of my behaviour and tried to change the subject.

"Mikasa, let's not ruin this for Armin. Why don't you tell us about your parents," he offered.

"They're dead." It didn't really help much. Immediately, he looked like he regretted asking.

"Oh..."

"You didn't know?" I asked. He shook his head. "Well, what about you? Anything interesting you want to share?" I asked Eren. He looked around for a bit while he thought of something. Something in particular caught his eye and he instantly looked more interested and angry about said thing.

"I'll be back," he huffed and left the table. He walked over to another one with Kirstein and Bott. They were holding hands. Eren slammed his hand in the middle of the table and glared at the Gryffindor. "Care to explain, Kirstein?"

"What do you mean?" he grumbled and Eren moved closer to him.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about! Start talking, git!"

"Eren, why does it matter if he's in a different house?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You are fully aware of what you said to me and you are fully aware of what you're doing!" he yelled back. Kirstein didn't respond to that. Eren sighed and turned to Bott, "I'm sorry for the intuition. You enjoy the rest of your date. You though..." He pointed to Kirstein. "You have a lot of explaining to do when you get back to the dormitory," he finished and walked back to us.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He said some stupid things a while back. I have to set things straight with him. I'm sorry about that," he explained.

"No, it's okay. Um, want to go to Honeydukes?" I offered.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind the candy store."  
  


~Eren POV~

I got back to the dorm before Jean did and I watched his name on the map as I waited. Once he was in the Gryffindor tower, I put the map away and watched the door. He came in and avoided eye contact with me. I got up as his back was towards me and when he turned around, I grabbed his shirt.

"You!" I threw him into the room. "Bloody!" I pushed him and he tripped back onto his bed. "Hypocrite!" I picked up a textbook from the ground and raised it to hit him, but he blocked it and pushed me away.

"What's your problem? Is it his house or blood status?" he spat.

"Oh, now you're going to play the blood status card? I couldn't care less about either of those! In fact, a person that I like is in a different house and is a half-blood!" I threw back. He looked at me and thought for a moment.

"...You like Arlert?" he asked. I averted my eyes and blushed. I couldn't deny it any longer. It was the truth. I fancied him. I didn't respond and he continued to stare at me. "Is that why you keep looking at that piece of parchment? Is that a photo of him?" I looked back at him in surprise. The only thing he could be talking about was the map.

"You've seen it?" I was being careful not to use the map when other people were around, even him at the beginning of the year.

"What is it?" he asked. I hesitated, but I took out the map and my wand.

 _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_ The text appeared on the map and he sat down next to me. I opened the map and explained to him how it works, using Armin as an example. He looked at the map and nodded his head before looking at me.

"So you're stalking him," he concluded. I pushed him in the shoulder and scoffed.

"Don't you dare pretend for a second that you wouldn't do the same thing with Bott!" I spat back. I looked at the Hufflepuff common room and found Bott, but there was a huge crowd in the room and everyone was going everywhere. "What's going on there?" I asked and pointed to the common room.

"Oh, probably just a party. Marco invited me to one of them once."

" _Just_ a party? They are running around like a madhouse!"

"Yeah, it got pretty crazy. Professor Hannes brought Firewhiskey to the last one. He ended up in the corner and everyone stayed away from him," Jean explained. On the map, Hannes was in the corner a fair distance from everyone else.

"Well, I wouldn't suppose things would be different there."

"Merlin! He was drinking straight from the bottle! If anyone dared to approach him, he'd grab all of his bottles and shout at them." He pantomimed gathering things in front of him while trying not to laugh. " _My precious_!" he quoted. I started laughing at the image.

 _"Mischief Managed."_ I closed the map and turned to him. "You still haven't explained what happened," I reminded him. He sighed and looked away.

"I know. I'm sorry. When you came out to me, I was just... Shocked, I guess."

"That's an understatement."

"I know it is! I was in denial. Maybe even a little jealous."

I raised an eyebrow, "Jealous?"

"You were so confident and so sure about your sexuality. I was so confused about myself and you made it sound so simple," he confessed.

"Jean, we've been friends for years. You offered me help, what made you think I wouldn't give it to you?" I questioned. He shrugged.

"I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

I sighed, "It's in the past." I put the map and my wand under my pillow. "Congratulations."

"Huh?"

"On getting a boyfriend."

"Oh, thanks," he chuckled. "Do you want help asking Arlert-"

"No, no, no, no! Don't even think about it!"

"You sure?"

"I don't even know if he likes boys. I'd have to be mad."

"Sometimes you just have to take the risk. How do you think Marco and I started dating?"

"He asked you?" I suggested. He didn't say anything for a moment.

"The point is..." I started laughing and cut him off.

"I'm good. Thanks though. I'll let you know when I'm ready," I replied. He chuckled.

"Good luck."

 


	23. Issues

~Amanda POV~

Armin and I went home for Christmas. Theo also went home to spend time with his dad. I didn't get a single letter from him over the break, which I didn't blame him for. He was probably busy, but I wanted to know how he was doing. I couldn't find him on the train going back to Hogwarts.

I didn't see him again until Charms class. He'd usually get to the class before anyone because it was one of the subjects he liked and he was the best in the class at it. That day though, he was one of the last people to arrive. He walked in a few minutes before the bell and he didn't look like he got any sleep. He had dark circles under his eyes and they were slightly bloodshot.

"Good morning," I greeted when he sat down.

"Morning," he replied and rested his head on his hand. Usually, he was the one to greet me first. Professor Ackerman soon came in and began the lesson.

"Welcome back everyone! I know you're all tired from the break, so today, we'll be reviewing _Lumos Solem_. Who can remind me what this spell does?" he asked. Normally, Theo was the one to answer questions and get points. He's also on Ackerman's good side, so he often was called on anyway. "Mr Foster?"

Theo raised his head from his hand. "Hm? It produces a bright and thin ray of light."

"Precisely! 5 points to Slytherin," Ackerman announced. "Like before, I'll come up to everyone individually to cast the spell. While you wait for your turn, answer the textbook questions." We all opened up our textbooks and Ackerman began testing students. Theo and I sat close to the front, so it wasn't long before he approached us.

 _"Lumos Solem!"_ I cast the spell without any problems and next was Theo.

 _"Lumos Solem!"_ The tip of his wand lit up dimly before fading soon after. The professor looked confused. Theo was the best out of everyone in the class. He even got the nickname 'Charmworker' because of his incredible skill.

"...Try again, please," The professor asked.

 _"Lumos Solem!"_ The same thing happened.

My ring turned yellow and I tried to stop staring. _What's up with him today?_ I wondered.

He kept trying, over and over again, _"Lumos Solem!"_ It wouldn't work. "Third time's a charm," He muttered under his breath. Normally, I'd laugh at a good joke from him, but this just didn't feel right.

"Theo, that _was_ your third time," I informed. He shot me a glare of pure rage. I was so surprised, I jumped back a little bit just from looking at his eyes. For the past year and a half, those emerald irises never looked at me with such anger. I wasn't ready for it to happen. Theo always managed his anger very well. He never shouted or cursed and he always knew when to leave. Something was _definitely_ wrong.

 _"LUMOS SOLEM!"_ He put all of his energy into his voice and his wand responded. He lit up the entire room and nearly blinded everyone. When the light died down, everyone was silent and stared at him. He glanced around the room and put his wand on the desk. He placed his hands under the table and looked down awkwardly.

"Come see me after class," Ackerman requested and Theo nodded his head. The professor moved to the next person and Theo picked up his quill.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," he replied and started writing on his parchment.

"Are you-"

"Yes," he cut me off and kept his eyes on his work.

"Do you-"

"Don't worry about me." He kept writing.

I thought about what could have happened over the break that would make him act like this.

I silently gasped and looked at him, "Your dad-"

"Amanda, I don't want to talk right now," he snapped finally looked up at me. I flinched at his sudden movement.

"What? Got Daddy issues, Foster?" A voice behind us snickered. Theo whipped his head around to identify the source of the voice. Behind us, Songal, Rao, and Asírós were looking at us, but the voice was male. It couldn't have been any of them. To Asírós's left was a red-headed Slytherin boy and Theo's roommate, Floch Forster. His hairstyle was very odd. He looked like he had a bird's nest on his forehead.

Theo glared at the boy, "You're going to regret that, Forster," he hissed. Forster smirked and Theo turned around. He buried his face into his hands and sighed. It was January. Exactly one year ago, he got a letter saying his dad had a year to live. The year had passed and it was taking a toll on him.

I wrote slowly and glanced at his profile. I wanted to help, but it felt like all I was doing was making it worse. I brought up his dad and now others knew. More specifically, _Rao_ knew something was up. She spreads bad and usually false rumours faster than Dragon Pox. It was only a matter of time until the whole school knew about his so-called 'Daddy Issues'.

I ripped off a piece of parchment and wrote a note, **_"I'm sorry for bringing it up. I'm just worried about my best friend."_** I slid the note to him and he looked at it. He eventually started writing on it and passed it back to me.

 ** _"It's not your fault. A lot happened over the break. I'll tell you when I'm ready."_** I glanced up at him, but he was focused on his work. I decided it was for the best if I left him alone. I told him I'd see him in our next class and left while he stayed behind with Professor Ackerman.  
  
  


~Theo POV~

I went to Ackerman's desk once the bell rang and he waited until all the students were gone. Once the class was empty, he pulled up a chair and I sat down.

"Is everything okay? You've never lost control of your wand like that."

"I'm just tired. It's been a long break," I reasoned. Though, sleep wasn't even half of why.

"Did something happen?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," I immediately responded. The last thing I needed was to explain everything.

"Well, can you try the spell again for me?" he asked.

I stood up and drew my wand, _"Lumos Solem."_ I effortlessly cast the spell and my wand responded correctly this time.

"Flawless, as usual," Ackerman complimented.

A small smile came across my face, "Thank you." I put my wand away and left for my next class.   
  


I met up with Amanda in the Great Hall for lunch like we always did. We studied like we did before and everything felt normal. She didn't ask any questions about what happened, which I was thankful for.

Once all classes were over, I made my way to the dungeons and ran into Forster in the corridor. I approached him from behind and grabbed him. He gasped and I drew my wand. I slammed him to the wall and pointed my wand at his neck.

"You don't say a thing about my father. You hear?" I kept my voice low to avoid attracting attention. I was breaking one of the biggest rules in the hallways. You never draw your wand in the corridors, let alone, point it at someone. "I haven't got 'Daddy issues' in case you were wondering."

He tilted his head back, but chuckled, "It's impossible to take you seriously with those freckles," he taunted, but it was obvious that he was hiding his fear.

"Have you seen the top of your head recently?" I threw back touched the tip of my wand to his chin, "Not. A word. Understood?"

"What iz zis?" We turned our heads and saw Asírós. Forster sighed in relief and she glared at me. "Unhand him zis instant, midget!" she shouted and reached for her wand. I slowly lowered my wand and glared at him for a few seconds. I let go of his shirt and he ran to her.

"A wise choice, Foster," he chuckled.

"Zat will be zee last time you threaten _Mon chéri._ " I didn't need to know French to know what she meant. I blinked and stared at them in shock. Forster took her hand and sneered at me.

"Jealous?" he boasted.

"That's a _bad_ idea, Forster. We're 12," I pointed out.

"Floch, let's leave zis midget. I'm sure zee staff would love to hear all about his actions," Asírós chirped, almost as if she was happy to get me into trouble.

"Yes," Forster agreed. "Have fun getting expelled, shortie." They walked away with their hands clasped together and I entered the dungeons.

I went into my dorm and drew the hangings. Forster has been calling me short since day 1. I didn't think I was _that_ short. I had always been around the same height as Amanda, she was a little taller than me... I was also shorter than Levi... Okay, he had a point.

I sighed and started on my homework. I was almost done when the hangings flew open and I jumped. Forster glared at me with a victorious smile.

"Liddle is waiting for you in the common room!" he announced like it was a wedding. I rolled my eyes and closed my book. Sure enough, the first thing I saw was his jet black hair and a pair of disappointed blue eyes looking at me. He inhaled to talk, but I put my hand up.

"I know. You don't have to tell me," I said. "Who will you take me to?"

"Actually, I can settle the problem myself," he informed. I tilted my head up to look at him. Seriously, why was I so short and him so tall? His last name is _Liddle,_ why was he 6 feet tall?

"How many points are you taking?"

"That is yet to be determined," he said. "I'd like to know your motive."

I looked down, "He's getting into my personal life and he may have heard things that weren't meant for him. I lost my temper, I'm sorry. It won't happen again," I confessed.

"Is there anything I can-"

"I don't want to talk about it," I cut him off.

"Foster, please let me finish," he requested. I sighed and looked at him to let him talk. "I'm a prefect and it's my job to help the younger students. I understand if you don't want to tell me everything, but there has to be _something_ I can help with. If not, then we can get to how many points you're losing," he informed.

I looked down and sighed, "My dad's dying," I whispered. "That's all I'm going to say."

"Oh... Well, that justifies your motive slightly," he said. "But I have to take points from you."

"I know, I expected it to happen."

He thought for a moment, "20 points... And detention."

"That's it?" I questioned.

"Normally, it would be 50 points, but you're a good student and it's only your first offence," he reasoned. "Plus, you're Professor Ackerman's favourite student. If I took 50 points from you, he'd probably take my badge and I wouldn't be Head Boy next year."

I smiled a little bit, "Thanks."

He leaned down to my ear. Okay, I know he didn't mean to insult me, but come on. He leaned down two feet, that felt like a slap to the face.

"This stays between you and me. No one knows I only took 20, not even Amanda. Okay? I _will_ lose my badge if someone finds out," he whispered.

I nodded my head, "Promise."

He straightened back up and I started walking back to my dorm, "Behave, alright?" he teased.

I chuckled and turned to him, "Don't worry, I will."

 


	24. Accidents

~Armin POV~

Things went as they normally did when I got back to Hogwarts. The next Quidditch game was against Slytherin, and Amanda had no problem letting me know she wasn't afraid of me. I went to the Owlery soon after I got back to care for Alba. I put in my routine to see her weekly to dust things out of her feathers and spend some bonding time with her. Soon after we got back, I asked Eren to help me start training her and he surprisingly obliged. Every Wednesday and on the weekends, we'd meet up in the Owlery after dinner and both work on training our owls. Aerugo was more experienced than Alba, so Eren was usually teaching him something completely different. Alba had no problems learning to fly over to me when I called for her across the room. We got her to do it within a few days.

"Good job, Alba!" I rubbed her head and gave her a treat when she perched on my arm.

Eren chuckled and came up to me with Aerugo on his arm, "Think she's ready to respond to hand signals?" he suggested.

"I think that's a little too fast for now," I replied and continued to pet her.

"Well, there's going to be another Hogsmeade weekend after your Quidditch game for Valentine's Day," he started. I looked over to him and he was signalling Aerugo to do different tricks. He gave him a reward when he perched on his arm. "Want to go together again?"

"Yeah, I probably won't go with anyone else."

"Mikasa is going with Annie so it'll be just the two of us," he said. I guess he was expecting me to say something because there was a moment of silence before he broke it in a fluster. "No homo," he added.

"Uh- Yeah, of course," I responded.

"Don't get your arse kicked too hard out there," he joked.

I punched him in the shoulder, "You're talking to a Ravenclaw. We're working on a plan."

"Whatever you say, Wise Boy."  
  
  


~Amanda POV~

Everyone on the Quidditch team was worked up about the next game. Last year, Ravenclaw was the one thing that stopped us from winning the cup. While I thought my brother did a good job at his role, he was my opponent now. The team wanted revenge for last year and my competitiveness with Armin only motivated me more. Together, Armin and I worked with each other well, but when we compete, it's a battle for victory.

We practised harder for the game with Ravenclaw. Braun, as usual, was creepy with me during practice. Whenever I'd look in his direction, he'd wave at me and wink. The entire team would gag. Jade and Ruth were both itching to see us beat them. Jade made banners and Ruth got her parents to send a camera to her. Her dad works for _The Daily Prophet_ , the wizarding world's newspaper in Britain. The camera she was sent didn't look as high tech as the muggle ones. In fact, it looked quite old fashioned to me, but it had to be something special if it could take moving pictures.

Soon, it was time for the game and we marched onto the field. Jade and Ruth called out to me as we walked on. Jade had her usual emerald green hair, but she had a few streaks of silver and the house colours painted on her cheeks. Ruth waved at me and brought the camera up to her face to take a picture. I made a funny face and she didn't hesitate to save it.

The captains approached each other and shook hands while Ackerman welcomed everyone. I met eyes with Armin and he drew his thumb across his neck. I pulled on my eyelid and stuck out my tongue. Chaser vs. Keeper. This was going to be fun.

"Up!" We summoned our brooms and kicked off the ground. Armin and I gave each other death glares as we waited to hear the whistle. The flying instructor blew the whistle and the crowds erupted in cheers at the start of the game. I seized the Quaffle.

 **"Slytherin in possession."** Armin focused on me like I was prey. I gave him a similar look of confidence and worked my way around the Bludgers and other Chasers. Armin was more experienced than me and knew I played aggressively, but I was faster. I threw the Quaffle and scored.

 **"Chaser Amanda scores 10 points for Slytherin!"** The crowds cheered and encouraged me to keep going. Ravenclaw caught the Quaffle and we chased after them. I looked for an opportunity to steal it and Levi ended up finding it. He flew past the Chaser and claimed the Quaffle. **"Steal by Levi!"** He tossed the Quaffle to Theo and Theo evaded everything with a barrel roll.

 **"Slytherin scores again!"** I gave Theo a high five as he passed, but I knew something bad was about to happen. The minute you think the game is going in favour of you, the other team climbs up. Armin managed to catch the Quaffle and pass it to his teammates. Just as I was about to chase her, Gabi sent a Bludger to me. I barely dodged it, but I fell too far behind.

 **"Chaser Rico scores for Ravenclaw!"** The Beaters kept us occupied while Ravenclaw kept the Quaffle in their possession. They scored 30 points and took the lead.

 **"55 minutes on the clock."** Armin gave me a mischievous smile and waved at me. I briefly looked away from the Bludgers and flew to the Chaser with the Quaffle. The Quidditch gods must have been smiling upon me because I managed to steal the Quaffle without getting hit.

 **"Slytherin takes back the Quaffle!"** I took a lap around the field to look for an opportunity to throw the Quaffle. I noticed Jade waving her banner and Ruth taking pictures of me. I tossed it to Theo and he scored. **"Theon Foster brings Slytherin back up to 30 points! Both teams are now tied."**

Levi caught the Quaffle and passed it to me. Armin chased after me, but I sped up on my broom.

 **"Score from Theon's Ice Princess, Amanda!"** Ackerman shouted suddenly. Half of us on the field froze. Theo caught the Quaffle and started turning red. I looked towards Ackerman, confused and flustered. My ring started turning pink and I looked to Armin. He looked at Ackerman, then to Theo and me. He knit his eyebrows together and stared at Theo for an explanation.

Theo looked down awkwardly and blushed before tossing the Quaffle to Levi and flying away. Armin looked at me briefly with an expression that read _Explain to me later_ before resuming the game.

Levi flew across the field and I got back into my _'Destroy Ravenclaw'_ mood. Levi threw the Quaffle, but Armin managed to get to the hoop fast enough. He didn't catch it, but he deflected it and shake the pain off his hand.

 **"Keeper Armin deflects the Quaffle and Chaser Hanji catches it from below!"** Hanji flew to another hoop and threw the Quaffle.

 **"Save from Slytherin Keeper Annie!"** Annie caught the Quaffle and threw it to Theo. He held onto the Quaffle, but the Ravenclaw team had other plans. Gabi hit a Bludger to Theo and knocked him off his broom. I gasped and chased after him. The coach blew the whistle and everyone on the field froze and the clock stopped counting.

 **"Coach calls for a break,"** Ackerman announced and the crowds started murmuring. Theo dropped the Quaffle and hit the ground before rolling a good five feet from his broom. I approached the ground and jumped off my broom before running to him.

"Theo!" I slid down next to him and he groaned. He pushed his left side off the ground and I helped him onto his back. He put his hand on his right hip and wheezed. The dirt and sand had scratched parts of his face and he was bleeding slightly. His face was smudged and some of the sand seemed to blend in with his freckles.

I took off my gauntlets and brushed the sand off his face. When I cleared all of the dirt and sand that I could, he grabbed my hand and brought it away from his face, but he didn't let go. The rest of the team came up around us and Levi kneeled down.

"You okay, kid?" he asked. Theo directed his attention to Levi. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just groaned.

Meaburn stepped onto the field and kneeled down, _"Episkey!"_ She cleaned up all of the scratches on his face. "Where was he hit?"

Theo continued to wheeze and he lifted his shirt slightly. He got hit directly in the ribs and it was bad. There was a massive bruise forming and it looked painful for him to even breathe.

"I apologise for my cousin. I didn't know she could be that vicious," Braun sighed and looked over to the Ravenclaw team. Gabi caught my eye and she was looking at us with her hand cupped over her mouth. She was worried and clearly felt bad.

Meaburn put her wand away and looked at his ribs. She reached out and poked his upper rib.

"Ugh!" His body tensed and he pushed her hand away while tightening the grip he had on mine. Meaburn backed up and sighed.

"He's in no condition to keep playing. I have to take him to the infirmary. His ribs are broken," she explained.

Theo tried to push himself off the ground to protest, but he immediately fell back and winced. Other staff members came onto the field with a stretcher and took him to the hospital wing.

I let go of his hand and picked up his broom as they took him off the field. We took a couple of minutes to briefly discuss how we were going to play for the rest of the game.

"We don't have a replacement," Levi pointed out.

"Gabi has been pretty aggressive with the Bludgers. I can take care of her if needed. We already hate each other, it's not like it's going to cause problems between us," Braun suggested.

I noticed that, for once in my life, Braun wasn't talking about me or trying to impress me. Instead, he was showing personality around me and not hormones.

"You know, Braun?" I started. "It's much easier to be in your presence when you're not trying to hook up with me."

Braun stared at me, as if he was shocked to hear me talk to him.

"You should do that more often," I finished and grabbed my broom. Everyone else took their brooms and we went back to the game.

 **"Slytherin decides to continue the game with only two Chasers. The score is 40-30 in favour of them. Let's see if they can keep up,"** Ackerman announced as we walked back. It was just Levi and me. We needed to be careful.

 **"Slytherin in possession."** I tossed the Quaffle to Levi and he threw it to one of the hoops.

 **"Keeper Armin blocks the throw! Ravenclaw takes possession."** Armin tossed it over to one of the Chasers. Braun and Bertholdt went to work and one of them hit a Bludger to her.

 **"Chaser Historia drops the Quaffle!"** She managed to stay on her broom, but she lost the Quaffle and Levi caught it from below. He passed it over to me and I scored.

 **"Goal from the Slytherin Ice Princess!"** He didn't call me _Theo's_ ice princess that time, but I was starting to like the title. 37 minutes were on the clock when Mikasa made a sharp dive.

 **"The snitch has been spotted!"** Mikasa and Connie were chasing after the snitch and I looked to our Beaters. Bertholdt sent one to Connie to throw him off while Braun hit one to Gabi. She lost control of her broom for a moment, but she didn't fall off.

 **"Slytherin is pulling ahead!"** The Slytherins in the stands were cheering for Ravenclaw's defeat. Mikasa leaned forward on her broom to go faster. Soon, both Seekers stopped and the counter froze. Mikasa flew into the air with the snitch in her hand and the crowds erupted.

 **"Seeker Mikasa has claimed the snitch! The score is 200-30 in favour of Slytherin!"** Ackerman announced. I spotted Ruth's flash from her camera going off and Jade waving her banner and screaming. I smiled at them as I descended to the ground and to the broom closet.

Levi still made us all shower after the game, but everyone was to wait for the others to finish. We all left together to see Theo in the hospital wing. He was looking better when we got there. He had a sling on his right arm, but he was sitting upright and was able to speak.

"How are you?" Levi asked.

"Brilliant, mate," he replied and rotated his shoulder. I pulled up a stool next to him and sat down.

"How bad are the injuries?" I asked.

"Meaburn said I broke three of my ribs and my arm. I also have a massive bruise. She's waiting for my bones to heal before treating the bruise," he explained.

"Do you know how long you'll stay here?" Mikasa questioned.

"I should be out by tomorrow. She wants me to stay here while that abomination works its magic," he said bitterly and pointed to a potion on the nightstand. "That thing is disgusting! She had to force it down my throat."

"Can I see the bruise?" Annie requested. Theo chuckled, but lifted his shirt. His entire ribcage was dark purple and I winced just from looking at it.

"Enough about me! How was the game? Did we win?" Theo asked and pulled his shirt down.

"Yeah, we did! Ruth took some photos of the game. I can ask her to show you some," I explained.

The doors suddenly opened and Armin and Gabi walked in, "Sorry to interrupt. Can I borrow my sister for a moment?"

I rolled my eyes, but I stood up and followed Armin out of the infirmary. Gabi ran over to Theo and started apologising about hitting him.

"So... You and Theo..."

"What?"

"Are you two a thing?" he asked.

I leaned back and raised my eyebrows, "No, we're just friends."

"Ackerman called you 'Theon's Ice Princess' in the game," Armin pointed out.

"I have no idea where that came from. But I can assure you, we're not dating," I told him.

"You sure are quite touchy for just friends. You held his hand on the field."

I put my right hand into my robe pocket. I knew that my ring was going to start turning pink, "He broke his ribs. He was in a lot of pain. The least I could do is give him support."

"Do you fancy him?" he questioned.

I hadn't ever thought about Theo like that. It wasn't really a surprise that people thought we were dating. We spent the majority of our time together. Songal even asked me if I enjoyed kissing him in first year.

"No," I replied, though, I wasn't sure. I pulled my hand out of my pocket and looked at my ring. I continued to think about Songal and I noticed my ring started changing colour. Orange, the colour for jealousy.

"Well, don't do anything rash," Armin concluded.

"I won't," I replied.

 


	25. Break the Boundaries

~Armin POV~

Following the Quidditch game was the Hogsmeade Weekend. Eren asked me out earlier that month and Connie said he already asked Sasha out again. He seemed more nervous about this date with her and when I asked why, I nearly lost control.

"I'm telling her tonight..." he told me.

I gasped and grabbed his shoulders, "I am so proud of you! You'll be great!"

"I'm bloody scared!"

"You'll be fine! You've thought about it for a while, right?"

"Yeah..."

"You've got a plan?"

"I do."

"Then you're set! I can't believe you're actually doing this!" I beamed.

He sighed and pulled out his pocket watch, "I better go. I told her I'd meet her at the gate," he said.

"Alright, good luck."   
  
  


~Eren POV~

 ** _No homo_** _huh? Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Eren._ I was waiting for Armin outside of the Ravenclaw tower and my mind was racing. I was thinking back to all the things I'd said to him, and most of them I regretted. I told him _No homo_ as if I was trying to reverse psychology him to start liking me. Then there was all the filth I spat in our first two years up until the forest incident. Calling him poor, bragging about my blood status. The worst one was probably when I said he had to cuddle with his mum to survive the nights. His mum was dead, and though I didn't know at the time, I probably would have still said it because that's how much of a brat I was. And that just made me feel like shit.

The door to the tower opened and I went back to reality.

"Oh, Eren. I didn't expect to see you here," Armin commented as he walked out.

"I wanted to make sure I didn't miss you," I replied. It came out like I was trying to flirt with him, which was the last thing I wanted to do at the time.

"Well, thanks for waiting for me. You haven't been here long, have you?" he asked as he pulled his hair behind his ears with both hands.

"No," I stated. _Real smooth, you liar._

"Good, I'm ready when you are."

As we walked through the gates, I noticed that the street was quite crowded so I turned to him and held out my hand. He looked at it confused and I realized what he must have been thinking.

"So I don't lose you," I explained. "You can give me your wrist or-" I stopped when his hand dug into mine.

"I heard there was a tea shop past The Three Broomsticks," he suggested while looking ahead as if us holding hands meant nothing.

"Uh- Yeah, that exists, but it's a place where couples go. People are constantly snogging and it's going to be worse for Valentine's Day," I explained.

"Oh, nevermind then," he replied and looked to the right.

I couldn't help but lament to myself, _If only..._

"Do you think there's still space in The Three Broomsticks?"

I shrugged, "Maybe."

"Hopefully," he replied and started walking to the building.

We found a spot towards the back of the building and sat down. As usual, we ordered butterbeer and I tried to act natural.

"Sorry about the game," I said to break the silence.

"It's fine. I'm more worried about Gabi than that."

"What happened?"

"She's really shaken about the last game. She felt really bad about breaking Theo's ribs and she hasn't been playing her best at practice. She blamed herself for losing the last game and she feels like she went too far with Slytherin," he explained.

"Speaking of the game, Kenny called your sister an ice princess."

" _Theon's_ ice princess, to be specific," he corrected.

"Did she ever explain? The three of you froze for a good 10 seconds after that."

"She said that she doesn't know why he said that. She claims that they're not dating and that she doesn't fancy him." He brought his mug to his face and smirked. "That is one of the biggest lies she has ever told me," he joked and sipped his drink.

"What gave it away?" I asked.

"She put her hand with her ring in her pocket when I asked her about holding his hand on the field. When she took her hand out, the gem was pink. I was the one who got her the ring, so I know what the colours mean. She's into him."

"You know that for a fact?"

"She might not, but I do. She's probably in denial or something. But he's the only boy she's ever around so it wouldn't be surprising."

"I see," I replied and took a sip of my butterbeer.

"So... What do you think we should train Alba to do next?" he asked and put his mug down.

"Well, we could start on getting her to come to you when you wave your hand. Or if you want to start on tricks we can do that too," I suggested.

"What kind of tricks?"

"The simplest one is showing her a picture of an object and getting her to retrieve it for you. There's also-"

I was cut off when he jumped from his chair and gasped. He looked past me and clasped his hands together in front of his mouth with a big smile. I got up and looked behind me. His other two friends, Connie and Sasha, were standing close to the wall and Connie was holding both of her hands. Sasha was looking at him with a face of utter shock.

"Love confession?" I leaned to Armin and asked. He nodded his head and kept looking at them like he was meeting his idol. It was adorable.

I looked back to the lovebirds and Connie was now looking at Sasha for an answer. After a few seconds, a smile grew on her face and she nodded her head.

Armin freaked, "CONGRATULATIONS!" he shouted maybe a little too loud, but everyone in the building started applauding them and Armin looked like he was happier than both of them about the start of their relationship. They both snapped their heads to Armin and widened their eyes. Connie started blushing and looked away. I spotted people on the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams shouting for them.

"KISS HER!" Zoe from the Ravenclaw team shouted.

"YES! KISS HER!" Armin chimed in. Soon, everyone was chanting _Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!_

Connie looked at Sasha and silently asked for permission. She shrugged and tilted her head up. They kissed and everyone, Armin especially, went ballistic.

They broke apart and fell back into their booth to escape all of the attention. The cheering died down and everyone went back to their seats. Armin and I sat down and he leaned back. He looked mildly exhausted from all that shouting.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He laughed and leaned forward, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for that to happen," he breathed. He looked at his hands and chuckled. They were bright red from clapping so much. He put both of his hands around his mug and cooled them off.

"So, about Alba..." I started.

"Yes, yes. I'm just curious, what have you taught Aerugo?"

"I've been training him for 4 years. A lot of it is too advanced for Alba."

"I still want to know. Impress me," he said.

"I've taught him how to attack."

He leaned forward, "Tell me more."

"It's a simple hand movement." I balled my right hand into a fist and slammed it into my left. "I wanted to make sure he could see it from far away. At the moment, he attacks but I'm having a hard time getting him to stop. I have to train him out in the training fields with dummies so he doesn't hurt anyone."

"How violent does he get?"

"He has managed to make a few tears in my dragon hide gloves. I usually wear my Quidditch gear to protect myself. But I'm getting there."

"You never cease to amaze me when it comes to animals and magical creatures. Do you plan on being a magizoologist?" he asked and sipped on his butterbeer.

"I could be, but... I don't know. I've thought about becoming an Auror or a Quidditch player."

He teasingly shook his head, "You're such a Gryffindor."

I hit the table and leaned forward, "Fight me!"

He put down his butterbeer and laughed. 

~Amanda POV~

I went back to the dorm once visiting hours were over. I found Jade and Ruth and all my other roommates waiting for me in a line facing the door.

"SURPRISE!" they all yelled. They had decorated the room with banners and posters with the Slytherin colours and our emblem. Jade still had her green and silver hair and everyone had painted the colours on their cheeks.

"You nailed it!" Ruth shouted and ran to me. She gave me a hug and the others followed behind her. "I got every second of it! I went a little overboard with the pictures..."

"A _little?"_ Jade questioned. "Your camera was going _click, click, click,_ throughout the _entire_ game!"

"We hoarded some food from breakfast this morning. We got you some pears!" One of the other girls came up with a plate of them.

I chuckled, "You guys know me too well." I took one of the pears and bit into it. We went into the room and started our mini party.

"Can we take a moment to appreciate all the banners?" Jade asked with a bottle of water in her hand.

"Yes, you did an excellent job, Jade," I complimented.

"We were in such a rush to put them up. Ruth didn't come back until 30 minutes after we started decorating, we thought you'd get here before her."

"What were you doing?" I asked and continued to eat my pear.

"Professor Ackerman pulled me aside after the game to look at the photos. I... May or may not have sold a few to him," she mumbled.

"What photos did you give him?"

"Well... He asked for the ones I took when you were caring for Theo, and... Pretty much all of the ones with you two."

"What?" Jade and I said in unison.

"He gave me 5 galleons a pop! Plus a tax of 16 sickles!" she defended.

 _"6 galleons?"_ 1 galleon is worth 17 sickles. It was basically 6 galleons per photo. "How many did you sell?"

"10."

"60 galleons?" My jaw dropped. That was worth 300 pounds in muggle money! "He gave you 60 galleons?"

"A little less than that..."

"Not much though! You sold him photos of Theo and me for 60 galleons?"

"Yeah. He puts you two in a boat," she said.

"He... Puts them in a boat?" One roommate questioned.

"I think he said something else. I don't remember what it was, but it was something on the lines of that," Ruth explained.

"He _ships_ us?" I asked.

"Yes! That's what he said! He _ships_ you!" she replied and drank from her water bottle.

"Wait! Show her the one!" One person jumped up and exclaimed.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Ruth went to one of the drawers and took out one photo. It was a picture of Theo grabbing my hand and pulling it from his face. Only, there was one thing I didn't notice on the field. He was staring at my face.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, "He was looking at me?" I said in a fluster.

"You didn't know?" Ruth asked.

"I thought you were dating."

"We're not dating!" I shouted and gave the photo back to Ruth.

"Do you fancy him?" Jade asked.

"No, we're friends."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" My face felt warmer and I walked back to my bed. "Let's change the subject."

"Tell us what it was like up there!" Ruth suggested.

"Now, _this,_ I can talk about."  
  
  
  


Theo got out of the hospital wing the day after the game. As soon as he walked out, he was in the same mood that he did back in charms when he screwed up, only worse. He looked exhausted, absentminded, and depressed.

For the few weeks beforehand, he was very energetic and cheerful. I thought that he just had a bad day in charms, but it was happening again. I guess the Quidditch game with Ravenclaw kept him distracted from his personal life, because he started acting like that again once it was over.

He walked in late to Quidditch practice on Wednesday. He got a scolding from Levi before going into the changing room to put on his Quidditch robes.

Throughout practice, it was clear that he wasn't entirely there. Whenever the Quaffle was passed to him, he threw it to either Levi or me and didn't attempt to throw it through the hoops unless he had to.

I couldn't understand why he was like this. He loves Quidditch just as much as charms. What was happening to him?

When he didn't have the Quaffle, he would look around absentmindedly and rub his eyes. Levi either didn't notice or didn't think it was worth pausing practice for.

After practice, I waited for him outside of the showers. He was one of the last to come out. His hair was still damp and there were a few water droplets on his freckles.

"Theo," I called. He stopped and looked over to me. I motioned him to come closer. "Is there anyone still in the showers?"

"No."

"All the girls left too. I want to talk to you," I started.

"About what?"

I sighed, "Just... What's been going on? You've been acting so different."

"Stress," he said vaguely.

"Theo, I haven't pushed the subject because I know it annoys you, but it's taking a toll on you. What happened over winter break?"

He held himself back, but I knew it set him off, "I said I'd tell you when I was ready."

"I know, but I've just been worried."

"I told you not to worry about me."

"You're my best friend! If I see that you're suddenly so emotional, of course I'm going to be worried!" I yelled. I didn't mean to sound so aggressive, but I guess I had to let out all the emotion I was bottling up.

"Go ahead and shout it to the world..." he mumbled coldly.

"Theo, what is it?" I was practically begging. "I want to help."

"I don't _need_ your help, Amanda!" he shouted. He was getting angry.

I knew it was a stupid decision, but I pushed it, "I can't just sit back and watch as you get worse."

"Amanda, it's not your job to fix me. There are some things that you just can't help me with. This is one of them," he spoke sharply.

"You can't just bottle it up. You have to talk to _someone_ for emotional support! You've always been there for me when I needed it, the least I can do is be there for you!"

"Amanda, magic doesn't solve everything. I'll live to see the game with Hufflepuff. That's all you should worry about."

"Theo, I _can't!_ I can't just do nothing! You matter so much to me! I'm not going to give up on you!"

"Listen, Arlert! I've got way too many things to worry about at home! I am _not_ going to bring it here and I'm not about to add you to that list! If you want to worry about something, worry about yourself! Don't waste it on me. If I told you everything, I'd just become a burden for you to carry," he hissed.

I took a step back and silently gasped to myself. He called me _Arlert._ That alone felt like a blow to the face. Coupled with the rest of what he said, tears welled up behind my eyes. It was a battle to keep them from spilling out in front of Theo.

I inhaled, but I didn't know what I was going to say.

"Save your breath," Theo spoke up before I had the chance to say anything. I looked at him in the eyes without uttering a word. His green irises had nothing but anger in them. He looked back at me in the same silence. We stood there for a few seconds.

His expression softened for a millisecond before he turned his heel and left.

I snapped.

I fell against the wall and to the ground. I started crying waterfalls down my face. I hugged my legs to my chest and buried my face into my knees. I wanted to make things better. I hoped talking to him would help, but it didn't. The exact opposite happened and it ended with him angrily storming off.

I took off my glasses and put them on the ground before screaming. I prayed to Merlin that Theo was out of earshot. I couldn't stop shouting.

Theo... The one person who refused to give up on me in first year. The one person who stood up to the bullies. The one person who made me feel wanted. Left, just like that.

For a millisecond, he had an apologetic look on his face, and I hoped that meant he didn't hate me, but I couldn't think straight with all the emotion.

I picked up my glasses and wiped my sleeve over my eyes. I tried to calm down as I walked out to go back to my dorm room. I took a lap around the Quidditch field before walking towards the dungeons. I kept my glasses off because I was still crying and wiping away any tears that escaped my eyes as I walked.

I walked up to the secret wall with the knuckle of my thumb over my eye.

 _"Pumpkin juice,"_ I spoke the common room password and the path revealed itself to me. I didn't look at anyone in the common room and bolted straight to my dorm.

Jade and Ruth were in there and I was still very much crying.

"Amanda?" Jade closed the door and grabbed my shoulders.

I wiped both of my eyes with my thumbs.

"What happened?"

"Theo happened..." I murmured and sniffed. Ruth put her arm around me and nudged me into the room. Jade led me to her bed and sat me down. Ruth came over with Sylvana and put her on my lap. Both girls sat on either side of me and wrapped a single arm around me.

"Spill," Jade ordered.

I told them everything. From his degrading performance to leaving me. I told them every detail other than what I knew about his personal life and his dad.

"He called you Arlert?" Ruth gasped.

"I don't know what to think of it... I... I don't know if I fancy him. It just..." More tears rushed down my face.

Jade grabbed both of my shoulders and turned me to face her. Sylvana jumped off my lap and Jade pulled me into a hug.

"Look, I don't care how gay this is going to sound, but I bloody love you, Amanda. I can guilt trip him into submission if you want," she said.

I chuckled, "I love you too, Jade. I don't need you to guilt trip him. I know you're good at that, but I guess he just needs some space. If he doesn't talk to me tomorrow, then you can talk to him."

"Do I get a hug and 'I love you'?" Ruth asked with her arms open.

I giggled and gave her a hug with a smile, "I love you, Ruth."

"I love you too, Amanda."

 


	26. Behind His Emerald Eyes

~Armin POV~

Connie, Sasha, and I met up at the Great Hall on Sunday at lunch.

"I'm so happy for you two!" I chirped as they sat down.

"So many Hufflepuffs congratulated me when I got back. It was a struggle just to get out of the common room," Sasha replied.

"Come to think of it, it's been a while since all three of us have met up to study. You've been studying a lot with Eren this year," Connie pointed out.

"Oh yeah. I did that on purpose," I said.

"What?"

"I left you two alone so you could have some quality time while Connie worked up the courage to tell you."

"So you've known since the start of term?" Sasha asked.

"Before that. He told me at King's Cross when we were returning for summer after second year. I've been waiting for you two to start dating. I almost asked you if you liked him."

"You did a good job of hiding it. I wasn't expecting him to ask me last night," she confessed.

"Just don't constantly snog in front of me. I'm okay with you holding hands and pecking each other's cheeks, but don't go too far," I requested.

"Armin, it's barely been 24 hours. We're taking it slow," Connie assured.

"Good decision."  
  
  


~Theo POV~

I'll admit, that was a jerk move. I've taught myself to leave arguments before I get angry, but I waited too long with Amanda. I was halfway across the Quidditch field when I heard her shriek. I had to fight back tears myself as I walked back to the dungeons. The next day at breakfast, I sat with my roommates. All but Forster. He sat with French Girl Asírós. I spotted Jade's emerald hair down the table, but I couldn't find Amanda's bright platinum blonde head.

A few minutes later, I saw her walk in from the corner of my eye, followed by Liddle. I assumed he somehow found out about the fight and decided to talk to her.

After breakfast, I was pulled aside by Liddle and he asked if we fought.

"We did. Why do you ask?" I didn't deny anything. I knew I acted like a bloody git.

"Um, I don't think you're aware of how it's affecting her."

"I plan to work things out. I'm fully aware of my part in it," I answered.

"I talked to her."

"I noticed."

"She thinks you hate her," he suddenly blurted.

I blinked and averted my eyes in shock. I expected her to be mad at me. It sounded logical for her to think I was mad at her but, I didn't _hate_ her.

"I don't," I clarified. "I feel quite the opposite, actually..." I mumbled and tilted my head down.

"You should tell her," Liddle advised.

"We're 12. I'm probably just being a hormonal teenager."

"That's not what I meant," he corrected. "Tell her you don't hate her."

"I want to... I have doubts she'll talk to me."

"She wants to, she's just afraid she'll set you off."

"How much did she tell you?"

"All of it," he stated. "You really were an asshat."

I scratched the back of my neck, "That's an understatement..."

"At least you admit it. It's refreshing to see some students are mature enough to do that at least," he sighed and adjusted his robes. "Just make sure you know what you're doing. She really needs you."

"I don't intend to screw up again."

"Good, stay out of trouble," he finished and left.

A few days passed and I still hadn't talked to Amanda. I managed to find Jade by herself before dinner on Sunday. I called out to her and when she saw me, her eyes turned red.

"Foster," she said.

"How's Amanda?"

"Decided to start calling her that again?" She was very angry. Slowly, one lock of her curls at a time started turning red.

"She told you everything?"

"Yeah, she did. She came back from Quidditch practice _crying_ about you!" she fumed.

"Is she willing to talk to me?" I asked.

"Even if she wanted to, I wouldn't trust her with you. She was hysterical that night, because of you!"

"I'm sorry! Am I not allowed to tell her that much?" I asked.

"I'm not going to become your owl for her."

"I didn't ask you to. In fact, don't tell her I said sorry. I want to tell her myself," I urged.

"Do you even realise how much you hurt her?" Jade challenged.

"I'm a filthy tosser. Liddle has already told me that."

"No, you have no clue how much you mean to her! You were her only friend in first year. Can you even _begin_ to understand how much calling her by her last name meant to her?" Her hair now had an even amount of green and red locks.

"You're right, Jade. I admit what I did was an idiot thing to do. But I want to move on and apologise. Whether or not I deserve forgiveness is up to her," I ranted.

"She can say what she wants and you can say what you want. But nothing is going to excuse you of what you did to her," she huffed.

"I know. And I'm not asking for you to forget about it. I just don't want it to affect her life anymore, and if that means she doesn't want to be friends with me anymore... So be it," I lamented.

Jade's hair was now completely red and she still had her red eyes looking at me. She curled her lips and looked away.

"If you find her today, I won't stop you. Find her yourself and prove to her you care. Mess up one more time, you're dead," she promised and left.   
  


~Amanda POV~

I helped myself to the plate of green pears to soothe my soul at dinner. I found myself looking over to Theo multiple times before trying to focus back on what my roommates were saying. He left the table earlier than everyone else. As I was leaving the Great Hall, I heard a whisper from the right.

 _"Amanda!"_ I turned to see Theo against the wall.

I looked back at the hall then to my roommates. The hall was almost empty and my roommates looked at me cautiously. I looked at them, then quickly glanced in the direction of the dungeons, telling them it was okay to leave. They all left and the last few people filed out of the Great Hall.

I approached Theo and looked at him silently.

He sighed, "I- I'm sorry about that night. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

I sighed as well. He looked at me in the eyes as he apologised. He sounded sincere about it, but I didn't know what to say.

"I know that you just want to help and I appreciate that, I really do. But I do have reasons why I haven't told you and I want to explain to you, calmly," he spoke softly.

"Okay," I breathed. "Enlighten me."

"The things that happened when I was at home... They were really hectic. I haven't told you because I don't want to overwhelm you with them. I've been having so much anxiety about my dad. I'm constantly thinking he could be dead and I'm just here unaware of it," he ranted. "There are other things that happened, but it-" he paused.

I averted my eyes for a moment, but couldn't think what to say.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. He tilted his head down, "I'm sorry..."

"I accept your apology," I replied. He looked up. "I'm glad you finally told me something."

"I should have told you sooner..." he admitted.

"Hey, I get it. I also lost my dad. I also shunned out everyone I had. And by everyone, I mean Armin."

"Mm," He nodded his head and looked away as if he didn't know what to say. I had a hard time thinking of something to say myself.

I looked at him and opened my arms with a smile. He smiled back and took me in for an embrace. He dug his face into my shoulder and sighed. I tightened my grip around him and he did the same. I dug my face into his shoulder. He smelled like pine needles.

I don't know how long we stood like that. We only broke apart when we heard a whistle. Liddle had his hands in his pockets, lips slightly pursed, and eyebrows raised. I took my hands off Theo's shoulders and moved to his side.

"No kissing in the halls," Liddle spoke without changing his expression.

"We weren't kissing," Theo clarified and looked away, blushing. I must have been blushing too because my face felt warm. I looked down at my ring and quickly put it in my pocket. It was pink enough for someone to see from the other side of the corridor.

Liddle jerked his head towards the dungeons, "Unless you have a reason to be out here, you should head back to the common room. I'd hate for one of the other prefects to find you and suspect you're planning something naughty."

"We'll do that," I said and moved from the wall. Theo followed me and Liddle left in the other direction to monitor the hall.

We walked into the common room and none of my roommates were out there.

"I should probably explain to Jade what happened before she tries to kill you," I told Theo when I was done scanning the room.

"That would be greatly appreciated," he replied and I laughed. We hugged and I went to the dorm.

As soon as I walked in, I saw Jade on her bed with her red eyes and red hair. She held the handle of her wand in her right hand and twisted it on its tip on her finger with a murderous look on her face.

"Shall I do the honours?" she asked.

"No, everything's fine. We worked it out," I explained.

Her eyes changed to a cool purple and her hair went black. She shifted so her feet were on the ground and she was sitting on the edge, "Don't leave out a single detail."

I sat down next to her and explained everything. I did as she asked and gave as much detail as possible. I may have given a little too much detail on the hug.

"Liddle _whistled_ when he saw you two hugging?" Ruth asked and started laughing.

"Pine needles, huh?" Jade raised her eyebrow.

"You asked for detail..." I defended and scratched the back of my neck.

"So he didn't tell you what triggered all his emotion?" Jade asked.

I shook my head, "I told you everything."

Jade's hair and eyes went back to their usual green and brown, "At least he apologised. If he breaks your heart again, he's dead."

"You guys are acting like he broke up with me..." I mumbled.

"That's... Kind of what happened," Ruth defended.

I facepalmed and went to my bed to start homework. 

Theo and I went back to studying together the next day. He was still quite moody during class and meals. He was okay with me touching him now and he didn't mind me wrapping an arm around him. I still didn't know what happened over the break, and I didn't push for it. At this point, it was no use to urge him. I just had to wait until he was ready.

We didn't talk much outside of studying. We discussed the curriculum and I corrected his mistakes in potions as always, but we didn't talk about anything else.

A week after we made up, he seemed to be a little tense at breakfast.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"No, everything's fine," he replied.

I took a bite from my pear and looked at him, "Did you finish the potions homework?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got it all wrong. It was so late when I finally finished it. I gave up at the end."

"I can look over it. We still have a while before class," I offered.

He pulled out his bag and his homework. I took out mine and compared our answers. Half of his were correct but it was clear when he stopped caring.

"You got the basic idea. I just don't think Hanes will accept some of these," I explained. I pulled out my ink bottle and quill, "You can copy my answers. I don't think he'll care."

"Thanks," he said. As he corrected his work, I couldn't help but stare at him. The bags under his eyes were darker than ever and his skin was pale. His eyelids looked like they wanted nothing more than to close.

I bit into my pear, "How late did you stay up?"

"3 a.m. I think... I don't know," he said flatly.

I slowly put the core of the pear down, "Theo, have you seen Madam Meaburn lately?"

"Not since Quidditch."

"I think you should see her. She can give you a Sleeping Draught. You shouldn't be up that late."

"It's not a big deal. I just forgot to do this until the last minute."

"Theo, the bags under your eyes almost look black," I said seriously.

He looked at me and touched his cheek, "Is it that bad...?"

I nodded my head.

He was silent for a moment, "I'll see her if I have time tonight," He told me and went back to writing.

I sighed and grabbed another pear.

We had double potions that day. Neither of us got marked down for sharing answers for the homework. We were making a Swelling Solution for that class. The heating process takes 20 minutes and it needs to simmer for an hour after adding water and stirring.

I put the dried nettles and puffer fish eyes into the mortar. I crushed them into a fine powder and pushed the mortar to Theo.

"Add two measures of this into the cauldron," I ordered. He nodded his head and I got up to get the water and bat spleen for later. I set the spleen down and measured two tablespoons of water. As I was adding the water to the cauldron, Theo pushed a piece of paper to me.

**_"Meet me in the common room 30 minutes after curfew. Bring no one with you. We need to talk."_ **

I looked at him and nodded before putting the note in my pocket for later. He nodded back and we resumed brewing the potion.

Curfew was at 10 p.m. All my roommates were asleep by then. I told no one about the meeting. I still had my sleepwear, which was a white spaghetti strap shirt and green pyjama pants with the Slytherin emblem on my right thigh. I put my school robe on and quietly left the dorm.

Theo was on the sofa with Amber on his lap. He also had his sleepwear on and his school robe over it. I wrapped myself in my robe and sat down next to him.

"What's up?" I asked.

He looked down at his cat and sighed. His expression was filled with anxiety and sadness. His emerald eyes looked glossy in the light from the fireplace.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter in a black envelope. It was from his mum. It was dated February 16th. That night was the 20th, four days before his birthday. I hadn't realised until then, but he hadn't gotten a letter from his dad in a week at that point.

"Can you open it and read it to me...?" he asked quietly. We both were thinking the same thing.

"Theo, this is such a personal thing. Are you sure-? Four days before your birthday?"

"Amanda, I've been holding onto that for days. I can't do it. I trust you," he urged.

I moved closer to him and touched his shoulder. I opened up the letter and started reading.

**_"Dear Theo,_ **   
**_I hope you're doing well,"_ **

Theo started shaking and his breathing started to speed up. Amber didn't like his shaking and jumped off his lap. She curled up next to the fire and closed her eyes. Theo leaned forward and cupped his hands together, resting his head on them and looked into the fire.

 ** _"I know the past few weeks must have been very emotional for you and this might be a lot for you to take in,"_** I paused and my heart started beating faster. The next sentence...

I looked at Theo then back to the letter. I took a deep breath and said it.

**_"Your father died last night. His last words were, 'Tell my boy I love him'. I'm sorry I can't be there for you right now. No boy your age should have to endure this. I've been a terrible mother throughout all this. I wish I could fix everything for you, but I can't. I await your owl to start discussing plans for the funeral. I'll mail your professors and headmaster once you write back. I love you._ **

**_Love, Mum."_ **

I folded the paper back up and put it in the envelope. I looked back up at Theo. He was still looking at the fire and tears were building up in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him and he started crying. I held onto him tighter, but he continued to sob.

"Why...?" he lamented. "Why!" he shouted.

I rubbed his shoulder, "It's okay... I'm here for you."

"How is this fair!" He was yelling. I could feel his tears dripping past his freckles and onto my arm.

"It isn't," I told him. "You didn't deserve this."

"Mum..." He said her name with a hint of bitterness. "All I wanted was for him to be happy for the last months of his life! Is that too much to ask?"

"He was happy," I reassured. Though, I didn't know if it was true.

"No, he wasn't..." Theo claimed.

I didn't know how to respond to that. I didn't know enough to comfort him properly.

"My mum... She ruined it! It's all her fault!" He blamed her.

I held onto him, "How-"

"SHE HAD AN AFFAIR WHILE MY DAD WAS ON HIS DEATH BED!" he shouted. All the emotion he was bottling up, it all came pouring out. Doubt, fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, everything.

He buried his eyes into his hands, "She's pregnant... with another man's child!" he spilt.

I pulled back slightly to look at him. His face was still buried into his hands and the tears were still coming.

"That's what happened over winter break..." he confessed. "She came clean about the affair to me and to my dad. Told us she was four months pregnant with twins. She had a drunken one night stand the day she dropped me off at the King's Cross to come back here in September," he explained.

"So... This has been going on since the beginning of first term?"

"Yes. She should be 6 months now... She had the nerve to introduce me to her new boyfriend," he grumbled. "Phineas... I hate that man _so much!"_ he fumed.

I didn't know what to say. I lost my parents, but I hadn't faced a situation like his.

Theo looked at the letter and his mood shifted back to sadness. He started sobbing again, "How could she do this to me...? To my father...?"

"Are you doubting her love for you?" I asked.

"Yes!" He didn't hold anything back.

"Theo, look at me," I ordered and grabbed his hands. Reluctantly, he turned to me, "I don't know what you've been telling yourself for the past month, but I can tell you've been beating yourself up. I want you to ignore all the negative things your mind is telling you."

"It's not that simple."

"I know, but that doesn't mean those words are right. Theo, you're an amazing person. You don't give yourself enough credit. Not only are you skilled in magic, but you are also so strong. You're okay with crying in front of me, and I think that's so admirable. I have to admit, there were many times I wanted to cry in front of you, but I held it back. You're stronger than I am."

I cupped his face and wiped the tears from his freckles, "These tears don't make you weak. They're natural. Anyone who says you're weak can sod off. You've been bottling up so much emotion. It's amazing how you haven't completely snapped as I have before. But next time, let me carry some of the weight. You're my best friend, Theo. I'm here for you," I promised.

He took my hands off his face before he pulled me in for an embrace. He continued to cry into my shoulder and I rubbed his back.

"Thank you, Amanda..." he murmured.

 


	27. Emotions

~Theo POV~

Amanda told me that I should take the day off, but I insisted on going to class. I wasn't about to miss double charms because I got some bad news. I'd fall far behind if I missed it.

I met up with Amanda at the Great Hall for breakfast. I didn't eat much. Amanda made efforts to make me eat more, but I just wasn't hungry. She even offered me one of her pears, which was shocking if I'm honest. She'd tackle a person for one of those.

I ate one slice of toast and silently drank some water from my goblet as breakfast went on. When the daily post flew in, I looked at all the owls as they dropped their letters. I knew that there wasn't going to be another letter from my dad. He'd been dead for nearly a week at that point. Why was I looking for a letter?

I looked down at my empty plate and rested my head on my hand. _He's gone,_ I reminded myself.

I sighed and lifted my head so my hand cupped over my mouth. I looked around at the banners decorated along the walls with the different houses. I looked at a Slytherin one for a moment, then moved to the other banners.

I reached the Hufflepuff banner. My dad was a Hufflepuff.

I looked down and buried my face into my hands. I was trying to think about anything but my father, but everything just reminded me of him.

Amanda put her hand on my shoulder and I looked at her. If I wanted to, I could have burst out into tears right there. If it was just Amanda, I'd be okay with it, but I held the tears back. I wasn't about to show emotion in front of the other Slytherins. I'd get bombarded with questions in the common room and all the prefects would probably yell at me for embarrassing the house in front of the whole school. Amanda wrapped her arm around me and my head fell on her shoulder.

"You remember what I told you, right?" she asked.

"Don't beat myself up?"

She nodded her head, "And?"

"Don't be ashamed to cry..." I trailed off at the end.

"I'm always here for you," she said softly. I sighed and leaned forward off her shoulder. I couldn't wait for class to start. I'd finally have something other than my dad to think about.

As Amanda and I were leaving the Great Hall, Forster and his girlfriend were waiting for me at the door.

"How's your mum, Foster?" he asked and crossed his arms.

"Leave me alone," I huffed and started walking faster towards the Charms room.

"Oh, so that's how you're going to act? Your life would be better if you just admitted your mum is a whore."

My heart sank. I turned around and looked at him. He sneered at me.

"She doesn't know when to close her legs. Your mum is a slut with a bastard on the way. Who's to say that doesn't mean you're one too," he suddenly announced. The whole hallway froze.

Before anyone could say anything, Amanda grabbed my arm, turned me away from Forster, and pushed me towards the charms classroom. Behind me, Forster and the other girls laughed.

"How did he find out...?" I whispered.

"I don't know," Amanda replied and kept her arm around me as we walked to class.

We were one of the first ones in and we sat down without a sound. Forster, Asírós, Songal, and Rao took their seats behind us. I watched the clock, anxiously waiting for class to begin.

"Good morning! We'll be starting on a new charm today, _Diffindo._ Who knows what charm that is?" Ackerman asked the class.

I raised my hand and he called on me, "It's the severing charm," I said. I remembered from last year when Amanda's brother was tutoring Eren Jaeger from the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"5 points to Mr Foster!" Ackerman announced. "As the Slytherin Charmworker explained to us..." he started.

When Ackerman first called me the 'Slytherin Charmworker', I took it as a huge compliment and every time he called me that in front of the class, I felt like I was appreciated for my skill. That day though, it didn't make me feel good like it used to.

As he began lecturing the class, my mind wandered off. All I could think about was how tired I was. Tired from not sleeping. Tired of Forster. Tired of my emotion.

 _What's happening to me...?_ I wondered.

I snapped back to reality when I realized students were taking their books out. I reached for my bag and took out my book.

"What page?" I asked Amanda.

"325," she replied.

"What are we doing?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" she asked.

"I guess not..." It wasn't like me to randomly space out, especially in charms.

"We're reading the first 5 paragraphs, then we're going to practice it on different objects," she explained.

I nodded my head and opened up the book. My mind was partially there while I was reading. I wandered off a few times and I didn't go back to read over sentences I missed.

Once everyone was done, we were given the objects.

 _"Diffindo!"_ As with most charms, no one got it on the first try. I struggled to get my wand to listen to me. It was _Lumos Solem_ all over again.

"You never answered my question, Foster," Forster continued to provoke me.

I tried my best to ignore him, _"Diffindo,"_ I spoke and finally managed to make a cut in some parchment.

"Fine, forget about your mum. How's your dad?" he asked.

I turned to look at him. It took all my self-control not to point my wand at him and use the severing charm to cut off that rat's nest of hair on his forehead.

"You're on very thin ice, Forster. It would be in your best interest to shut your mouth," I hissed.

Forster laughed, "Daddy issues too much for you to handle?"

I slammed my hand over my wand on the table standing up, "Professor, may I go to the bathroom?" It took all my strength to stop my voice from shaking and to hold the tears back.

"You may."

I put my wand away and stormed out of the classroom. Some teardrops managed to escape my eyes as I walked to the bathroom. I walked in front of one of the sinks and slammed my fists on the edge. The tears poured out of my eyes and I didn't hold back. I was finally alone.

I shouted. Amanda told me not to be ashamed to show emotion. But that was all I could feel. I couldn't help it. Boys don't cry. _Slytherins_ don't cry. What was wrong with me...?

I looked at myself in the mirror. Tears were still running down my freckled cheeks. I looked mostly like my mum. The main trait I got from my dad was my eye colour. I had his emerald eyes. Aside from that, I was basically a younger version of my father's face with my mother's colour palette.

It hurt to look at myself. Now, I was thinking about my mum too. I felt so betrayed by her. I just couldn't feel love from her anymore. I buried my face into my hands and continued sobbing. Nothing else mattered in the world to me at that moment. All I wanted was for everything to go back to normal.

For a few moments, all I could hear were my quiet hisses and sniffs. I soon felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped.

"Are you okay...?"

I turned my head and next to me was an older Hufflepuff student with red hair. My dad had red hair.

"I'm fine..." I lied. It didn't matter what I said. He knew I wasn't okay. I just couldn't admit it.

He looked at me with concern, "I'm Andy. What's your name?"

"...Foster."

He took his hand off my shoulder to adjust his scarf. He looked down at my robes and I instinctively covered my emblem with the other side of my robe. He probably saw the green lining of my robe, it was a hopeless attempt.

"You're a Slytherin." At that point, I could have stormed off, but he seemed like a nice guy. I didn't want to shut him down completely. "I know one of your prefects. Does Liddle sound familiar to you?"

"Yeah, he talks to me often."

"Do you mind if I tell him I found you here?"

"That's fine... Just don't tell anyone else," I sighed. The tears had slowed down by that point. I almost forgot they were there.

"No, never. I'll talk to him personally," Andy promised.

I wiped my sleeve over my eyes and sighed. The tears were basically gone now.

"Better?" he asked.

I nodded my head, "Yeah..." I whispered. I was trying to keep myself calm.

"Okay, you should head back to class."

I rubbed my sleeve over my wet cheeks, "Yeah, thanks."

"No problem. Feel better, Foster," he replied.

I walked back to class and avoided eye contact with everyone. My eyes were probably redder than the Gryffindor common room. I sat down and looked at Amanda's desk. She was answering the textbook questions. I turned to the page and took out some parchment.

Amanda could tell I cried in the bathroom. Her expression was enough to tell me that. She rubbed my back and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Classes eventually ended and I made my way to the Great Hall with Amanda for dinner. Outside the doors, Liddle was standing against the wall.

"Foster," he called. I looked at Amanda and gestured to the hall. She went inside and I approached Liddle.

"Yes?"

"I don't want to talk about this much out here, but I... Heard a few things," he explained. "Meet me in the common room 20 minutes before dinner ends. I'd like to talk to you."

"Okay, I'll be there," I replied.

I, again, didn't eat much. Amanda made a few attempts to make me eat something, but I guess she didn't think it was helping much. I explained to her that I'd be leaving early to talk to Liddle, and she understood why.

She started talking about what I missed in class. I didn't miss any important material, but she told me Jade gave Forster a good roast while I was gone. I swear, that girl really knows how to get to one's core and burn their pride.

Eventually, it was time for me to leave. Amanda gave me a rub on the shoulder before I left. Merlin, my feelings for her were helpless.

I didn't make eye contact with anyone as I walked out. In doing so, I missed when Songal stood up and followed me.

"Theo!"

Immediately, I was fed up, "Songal, don't even think about it."

"I was just going to say sorry for what Floch said. He was just joking."

"I don't want your sympathy! You did nothing to stop it, your words are empty!"

"I'm trying to give you _empathy,_ Theo. I also lost my dad. I can relate to you. Can _Arlert_ do that?" she asked and fiddled with her diamond necklace.

"She can experience and express real emotion like a normal person, and that's multiple times better than what you're offering," I spat.

She continued to play with her necklace, "But she's not a _pure-blood_ like we are. She doesn't understand how important the family name's reputation is. And she never could! A mudblood like her could _never_ begin to understand what that means in the wizarding world."

"Don't you dare call her that! I want nothing to do with you! You've done _nothing_ but bully her! And stop playing with your necklace! You look stupid!" The venom of my words was enough to make her gasp.

"Theo-"

"Do _not!_ Call me that! To you, I am Foster. Now leave. Go back to the Great Hall with your minions!"

"They're not-"

 _"Go!"_ I shouted. She finally stormed off and I turned away.

I made my way to the dungeons and common room. Liddle was already inside waiting for me. He stood up when I entered.

"Come, sit down," he said. I sat down next to him on the sofa. "So... I was told by a friend that you had an episode in the bathroom."

"Yeah, Andy," I replied.

"Did something happen?"

I sighed, "I found out last night that my dad died..." I started.

"Anything else?"

"Well, my mum had an affair and got pregnant while my dad was dying. Somehow, Forster found out and he called my mum a slut in the corridor!" I ranted.

"He-- did that?" Liddle asked.

"Then he called me a bastard and he called my father's death my 'Daddy issues'!" My eyes started to form tears. "How did he find out? I only told Amanda..."

"Foster... Can I call you Theo?" he asked.

I nodded my head.

"I... I think I might know how," he started.

I looked at him, "You do?"

"Theo, you waited 30 minutes after curfew to meet in here last night. I know this because... I was still up. As were all of my roommates. A lot of older students stay up well beyond midnight. We heard you shouting and it was enough to put together what happened," he explained.

I averted my eyes in shock. I didn't even think about people still being up last night. I had spilt all the secrets about my personal life to basically the entire house of Slytherin.

"I told my roommates not to say a word. But I can't promise that other students won't say anything," he said.

I leaned back and rubbed my eyes, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong. I'll talk to Forster after dinner. Anything I can do to help?"

"Give Forster a good scare. Make him shake in his trousers," I answered.

He laughed, "I'll be sure to do that. Anything else?"

"No, I need to send an owl to my mum. I'll be heading to my dorm," I said and stood up.

"Alright, stay out of trouble," he replied as stood up.

"Of course. Thank you, Liddle."

"No problem."

 


	28. Choices

~Armin POV~

The weekend came around again and I was heading to the Owlery to see Alba. Inside, Reyna Songal, one of the new Ravenclaws, was caring for a great eagle owl. We made eye contact for a moment and I went inside. I called for Alba and she came flapping to my arm. I was a little suspicious of Reyna. I didn't know if she was like her sister, but she didn't seem to bully people. She's usually with her friends (Vani and Ian from what I heard) in the common room studying. Though, all three of them have given me weird looks.

"You're on the Quidditch team, right?" she asked.

I had no idea why she would want to talk to me, but I hesitantly replied, "Yes."

"Are there going to be any spaces open next year?"

Now, I didn't hate her, but I definitely felt awkward around her and if she was on the Quidditch team, I'd be around her a lot.

"Why do you ask?"

"One of my friends and I want to try out next year. He's especially excited about it," she explained and pet her owl.

"One of our Beaters is graduating this year. That's the only position that'll be open."

"Just one...?" she inquired. She sounded let down by the thought.

"Yeah, I highly doubt someone is going to give up their role any time soon," I answered. "Are you sure you want to do it, Songal? You'll be giving up a lot of study time if you join."

"Please, just call me Reyna. My last name just makes me sound like a spoiled rich girl."

"...Reyna," I said.

"I don't know. I really don't need a lot of study time. I get bored a lot in the common room. But Ian has been wanting to play Quidditch since he was a child. It's one of his biggest dreams," she lamented.

"...Well, we only take the best," I told her.

She sighed, "Maybe I won't try out. He can have Bailey's Firebolt if he wants it. He'll put it to good use."

"I'm not the one who makes the choice, so I can't promise you anything. We're just hoping next year will go better than this year has been."

"We'll see, I guess."  
  
  
  
  
  


After losing 2 games, we all were getting worried about finishing in dead last. Gabi looked like she wasn't enjoying Quidditch anymore and she never talked to us during practice. One day, while we were discussing plans for the game against Gryffindor, she randomly spoke up out of nowhere.

"I'm quitting," she said.

We all turned to her, _"What?"_

"Gabi... Why?" Rico asked. She looked hurt about her sudden decision. We all were hurt.

"I'm not the right person for this. We lost two games, we have no hope to win this season and it's my fault. I can't control the Bludgers. I either hit them too hard or not hard enough. I'm going to end up killing someone if I stay!" she ranted. "And it's Zeke's last season... I couldn't even grant him walking out in first place..."

"Gabi, we've all messed up in the games. I've failed to block the Quaffle, Connie has failed to catch the snitch, we're all at fault for our losses. You can't just quit now!" I pushed.

"I just... I haven't been enjoying this as much anymore. If the Bludger had hit Theo two feet higher than it did, I would have gotten him in the head!" she reasoned.

"Gabi, we have one more game. Just one more. We can't hold another tryout to find a replacement. Two months isn't enough to train a new player. Just give it one more shot. Maybe you'll start liking it again," Rico begged.

Gabi curled her lips and looked down, "I'll stay for the last game. After that, I'm leaving," she promised.  
  
  


We spent the majority of that meeting trying to persuade Gabi into staying next year. She really didn't want to. We all were devastated, but we eventually gave in and respected her decision. As I walked back to the Ravenclaw tower, I remembered my interaction with Reyna in the Owlery. I entered the common room and sure enough, she was there with her friends on a sofa.

I hugged the wall for a moment, debating if I should step out and talk to them. I eventually pushed myself from the wall and walked in front of them. I looked at them and they looked at me in confusion.

"I- I just thought you might like to know that we will have two spaces open next year," I informed.

The tan boy (I assumed to be Ian) turned to Reyna, "Is this the guy you talked to in the Owlery?" he asked.

"Yeah, what happened? You told me there would only be one."

"What's the other space? What role is it?" Ian inquired. He suddenly wasn't interested in his book and marked the page.

"Both spaces are for the Beaters. The other wants to give up her role next year."

"Is there anything I can do to prepare?" Ian asked.

"Honestly, I did nothing to prepare. I'm pretty sure I only got my role because no one else wanted it. Connie is just naturally talented and got the Seeker role."

"Are you sure about that?" Vani asked with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes.

"Vani, that was rude," Reyna pointed out.

"I was just joking! Plus, they would have won both of the last games if they caught the snitch. I'm just saying."

"Anyway, just wanted to let you know," I concluded.

"Thank you," Ian said and picked up his book.

I nodded my head and left.  
  
  
  


The next day, we had a lesson on Nifflers in Care of Magical Creatures.

"If any of you have shiny things on you, watch your pockets. These creatures are drawn to anything shiny. They are very destructive and shouldn't be kept as pets," Professor Ness explained to us as the small, furry, platypus-like creatures ran around in their enclosure.

I looked over at Connie and his face paled. His hand went into his pocket and he sighed in relief. He still had his pocket watch, but he'd have to keep an eye on it. I thankfully had nothing valuable on me. I wouldn't have to worry.

"I have hidden leprechaun gold around the area. Pair up into groups and look for the gold. Nifflers have pouches on their bellies to hold anything they find. The Niffler will hold the gold. The pair with the most gold will be rewarded."

Eren was already with Kirstein, so I paired up with Connie. I had no doubt that Eren was going to win. He had an almost guarantee success as a magizoologist.

Each group was given a Niffler and we set off on our scavenger hunt.

"Why didn't he tell us we would be doing Nifflers? I would have left my pocket watch in the dorm," Connie grumbled as we walked around.

"Why would he just scatter gold around? Someone's going to try to take it," I pointed out as I tallied up the number of coins our Niffler found.

"It's leprechaun gold. It disappears after a while. It isn't worth much," Connie explained.

"Oh... Interesting."

Connie kept his hand in his pocket the entire class. As I expected, Eren won. The reward was 10 house points for him and his partner.

As we were packing up to leave, Ness called for our attention.

"I'm missing a Niffler. Does anyone see one?" he asked.

Connie reached into his pocket and panicked, "My pocket watch is gone!"

Everyone looked around for a moment for any sign of it.

"...There!" Eren ran to a rustling bush and reached in. Both Connie and I ran towards him. When Eren pulled his arms out, he was holding the Niffler we worked with by its foot. The chain of Connie's pocket watch was dangling out of the pouch. Connie reached for it, but the Niffler curled up and tried to push the chain into its pouch. Eren tickled the Niffler and got it to uncurl for Connie to pull out the chain. The leprechaun gold also fell out of its pouch and I gathered that up.

"Got it!" Connie exclaimed and put it away.

Eren cradled the Niffler and took it to Professor Ness.

"Thank you, Jaeger. I have some baby Nifflers that I need help with. Anyone interested?"

No one said anything.

"...It's for extra credit."

I raised my hand. If extra credit meant house points too, I was on board.

I looked around at the other students. My eye caught Eren staring at me. He looked away and raised his hand too.

"Great! Meet me here at lunch. It would be a good idea to bring your dragon hide gloves," he said and dismissed the class.

Once lunch rolled around, I went to my dorm and got my gloves. I double checked myself for anything shiny before leaving.

Eren got to the class area before me. He had his Quidditch gauntlets on and was throwing food into a small enclosure that held the baby Nifflers. I stood there and stared at him for a while. He looked... Merlin's beard, he looked pretty hot.

"Arlert! Glad you're here. Grab a bag of food and feed some of the babies for me. I'll let you know if I have anything else for you guys to do," Ness ordered.

I jumped and did as he asked. I approached Eren and stood next to him.

He tossed some food out to the babies, "Aren't they adorable?"

"Yeah," I breathed and looked away.

He smiled as the babies ran around and picked up the little crumbs left around. "I wonder if I can get one to eat from my hand..." he murmured.

I snapped out of my trance and looked at the babies.

"Maybe," I said.

He took a handful of food and stepped over the fence. Most of the Nifflers scattered away, but he kneeled down and waited. One Niffler eventually approached him and he opened up his hand. The baby stuck its beak into the food before it started eating.

He smiled and gently pet the baby. I stopped tossing food in and watched him. He looked at me and I blushed. I looked into his sea green eyes. I never noticed how beautiful they were before.

"Armin, come here," he ordered.

"What?"

"You try it. I can help if you need it."

"Uh..." I couldn't even finish the sentence. I just stepped over with a handful of food.

The Niffler Eren was feeding was almost done with the food in his hand. I kneeled down next to him and he grabbed my wrist. He pulled me closer and as my hand came closer to the Niffler, his hand slipped under mine.

My heart raced. I couldn't think straight. This wasn't the first time he touched my hand. We held hands at Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day. Why was I acting like this?

Eren pulled my hand and put it in front of the baby Niffler. It started eating from my hand and Eren dusted off the crumbs in his hand.

He smiled, "I think it likes you."

I breathed out a quiet chuckle. I couldn't understand why my body was reacting like this. I was probably redder than the lining of his robes and my heart felt like it was ready to burst out of my chest.

"Jaeger, Arlert," Professor Ness called. "I can take everything from here. Thank you both for your help. You both have earned 25 points four your houses."

"Thank you, sir," Eren beamed.

"Th-thanks." I have no idea what happened. I couldn't even work out a proper sentence and my voice sounded like it was ready to crack.

Eren and I wrapped up and we separated to our respective towers. As I walked back, I took some deep breaths to calm down. My mind still jumped around and I thought back to what he said to me.

 ** _Aren't they adorable? I think it likes you._** _Like..._ That word in particular stood out to me. I thought for a moment, _Do I like him?_

I spun around, but he was gone. I turned back and resumed walking.

_But he's a boy... Is that allowed? He's also a pure-blood._ **_And_ ** _the heir to his family name! His father is Grisha freaking Jaeger. He'd_ **_never_ ** _allow that!_

I got so lost in my thoughts, I bumped into the entrance to the tower. I shook my head and spoke the answer to the riddle.

I walked up to my dorm and Connie was inside doing homework. Thankfully, no one else was there.

"Connie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" he said and set down his quill.

"Uh-" Now that I was actually going to say it, I started to freeze up.

"Is something wrong?"

"No! I just-" I took a deep breath. "Is... Is it okay for boys to... like other boys...?" I finally managed to say.

He knit his eyebrows together before he raised both of them in realisation, "Oh..."

I averted my eyes and looked down. Did that mean bad news?

"Well, it's socially acceptable. It's not very common and people don't go around announcing it. People worry more about blood status. My mum doesn't care that Sasha is a muggle-born, but I have no doubt that some pure-blood families still care about it," he explained.

I nodded my head. I couldn't work out things to say.

"Are you... questioning?" he coaxed.

"I... I guess? It's so confusing! I... I've never been interested in girls. The only girl I've ever called pretty is my sister," I ranted. I thought of my sister and gasped, "Amanda!"

"What?"

"Do you think she'll care? She's the only family I have! I-" I cupped my hand over my mouth.

"Okay, Armin. Calm down. This isn't something we should overthink," Connie advised. "Your sister loves you very much. Remember last year when you were kidnapped? She tackled you in the Great Hall and cried. I highly doubt your romantic interests will mean anything to her."

I sighed and hugged my legs, "I can't lose her..." Thinking about it was enough to get to me. My vision started to blur.

"Hey," Connie stood up and sat down next to me. "You'll be able to work it out. If anything does go wrong, I'll be here to support you."

I sniffed and let a tear roll down my cheek. He wrapped his arms around me and I hugged him back. A hug of pure support and friendship. I was glad to have him as my best friend.  
  


~Amanda POV~

Theo got a letter from his mum about the funeral details the next day. It was scheduled for the 25th. Right after his birthday.

"Do you still want me to go with you?" I asked at breakfast.

"Please? I have no one else for emotional support."

"Does your mum know?"

"I told her that I might bring a friend. I wasn't sure if you still were willing to go," he explained.

"Of course I would. I don't want you to be alone."

He looked down and sighed. I wrapped my arm around him and gave him a brief squeeze.

Breakfast soon ended and we made our way to Charms.

"We should tell the headmaster that you're invited. I don't know if my mum mentioned you in her letters," Theo explained.

"Okay, when's a good time?"

"Lunch, probably. The sooner the better."

"What are you two going to do at lunch, Foster?" The familiar voice of Forster called out.

Both Theo and I groaned. He really needs to find a hobby.

"Running off to cry about your daddy? Did mummy finally tell you that you're a bastard?"

I turned my heel and threw my arms down, "Forster! You'd better shut your mouth before I sew your jaw to your skull!"

Forster hesitated, but he soon straightened up, "Go on. Spit out your stupid gibberish. You should know that defending a bastard is futile."

"You really need to find something better to do with your time. Why did you suddenly start picking on Theo now? Did Asírós stop giving you love in the broom closet?" I spat.

His jaw dropped, "How dare-"

"Oh, sorry. Did I hurt your pride?" I sarcastically asked. "You're in desperate need of a life. I recommend you find one," I finished and grabbed Theo.

I pulled him down the silent corridor. People retreated towards the walls as I stomped to Charms.

"You didn't have to do that..." Theo murmured almost apologetically.

"No, I really did. I've tolerated him for long enough," I replied and walked into the class.

I set my bag down and walked to Professor Ackerman. I asked him to move Forster and the girls to the opposite side of the class. I was done with them provoking us during class.

We continued learning _Diffindo._ We started making more precise cuts into things for that lesson. I was surprisingly good at it. I wasn't perfect, but it was acceptable.

As we left the class, Forster caught up to us.

"Where are you two going?" he provoked.

I took a deep sigh and sped up my walking. I looked down at my ring. The gem was turning blood red.

"Is that how you're going to be? Play the silent game like the cowards you are?"

"FLOCH FORSTER!" I shouted and turned to him.

He stepped back but hid his fear and pushed his chest out. He looked even more stupid if that was even possible.

I dropped my bag and drew my wand. I pointed it at him and all the bystanders backed up. It was just Songal, Forster, Rao, Asírós, Theo, and me with my wand in the centre of the hall.

"You cruel, narrow-minded, little _rat!"_ I hissed through my teeth. "You better shut your mouth before I erase it from your face!"

Theo put his hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off. "You're one to call us cowards! _Prove_ that you're tough enough to fight me!" I challenged and took a step forward.

He chuckled, "That's how you want to play?"

"Draw your wand and duel me, you wuss!"

Forster shook his bag off his shoulder and gave it to his girlfriend. He drew his wand and pointed it at me.

I exhaled sharply and threw out any thoughts of consequences. I was going to _destroy_ him!

 _"Eat slugs!"_ I shot and he hunched over. He coughed and a slug dropped from his mouth.

Asírós rushed to him, "Floch!"

"I'm fine, Mila," he said and straightened up, only to immediately hunch over again.

I could have hit him with ten curses as he vomited another slug. He continued to cough and gag and I kept my wand pointed at him.

 _"...Everte Statum!"_ He caught me off gourd and a sharp thrust to my gut pushed me back. I was pushed back a few feet before I tripped on my robe. The momentum made me roll a couple of times and my glasses came off.

I pushed myself onto my knees and put my arm over my stomach with a groan. Forster continued to hack out slugs.

"Amanda," Theo came up next to me with my glasses. "Are you sure you want to do this? You'll get yourself detention for a month!"

I locked eyes with Forster and huffed. I put my glasses back on and gritted my teeth. What I did next was something I had wanted to do for ages.

I stood up and narrowed my eyes before raising my wand, _"Diffindo!"_ The rat's nest of hair on his forehead came clean off.

People in the hallway gasped and Asírós lit up with rage. She drew her wand and walked in front of him. Songal and Rao also drew their wands and they all pointed them at me.

Theo came up next to me and drew his wand. He pointed it specifically at Songal and she faltered. She looked like she was ready to put her wand away.

Before anyone could cast another spell, a red light hit Theo's hand and his wand went flying. I lowered my wand and gasped.

I turned around and found another wizard holding Theo's wand and his own. His knuckles were white and his face displayed nothing but pure rage. He was the familiar tall Slytherin prefect with jet-black hair and turquoise eyes. Liddle.

"Headmaster's office. _Now!"_

 


	29. The Funeral

~Amanda POV~

Liddle confiscated all of our wands and directed us towards the headmaster's office. As we picked up our bags, Forster fell to his hands and knees.

"Liddle, I-" He cut himself off when another slug came out of his mouth. I could see right through him. He wanted to avoid punishment.

"Save it for the headmaster," Liddle ordered and pulled him up by the robes. Once Forster was on his feet, Liddle pushed him down the hall and began walking.

Another slug fell out of his mouth, "But the slugs-"

"Merlin's beard, Forster! You act as if I care!" Liddle scolded and pushed him forward. Theo and I laughed at his insult, but he clearly wasn't amused, "You two stop that! I'm not pleased with you either!"

"She started it!" Songal cried. Playing the victim... Why am I not surprised?

"I don't care who started it! You _all_ violated serious rules and you've probably just cost us the house cup," he ranted and continued to walk. _"6 of you!_ The other houses hate us already, did you even _consider_ what that would do to our image?" he huffed.

I had never seen Liddle that angry before. His veins were popping on the side of his neck and he was walking very fast. We were almost running to keep up with him.

"And you two," he gestured to Theo and me, "This could cost you your Quidditch roles."

My heart sank and I looked at Theo. He looked just as scared as me. That was something I couldn't afford to lose. Especially after Mikasa bought me a Nimbus 2001 to play.

"I can't believe this..." he murmured through his teeth and spoke the headmaster's password.

We walked in and Shadis looked surprised to see us.

"A duel broke out," Liddle explained. Forster coughed another slug, "And he needs a bucket."

Forster was given a bucket to drop all the slugs into and chairs were arranged in front of Shadis's desk.

"So, care to explain what happened?" The headmaster asked.

Songal sat up and pointed at me, "It was Arlert! She's vicious and violent! She started it!" she accused.

I crossed my arms and sighed. I was going to be here for a while.

"Making wild accusations won't help anyone," Liddle huffed.

"But she _did_ start it! You can ask anyone in the halls!" Rao defended.

"She did zis to _Mon chéri._ She used zee cutting charm on his head and cursed him with zis horrible sickness!" Asírós claimed.

Liddle must have noticed that I wasn't saying anything so he asked, "Is this true, Arlert?"

That hurt a little bit. When Theo and I had that argument, I told him that it hurt when a friend called me by my last name. I looked up to Liddle. Multiple times he comforted me and always offered help. I still called him by his last name because he was so much older and a prefect. Plus, if he wanted me to call him by his first name, he'd have to tell me what it is first.

The hurt turned into irritation and I answered, "Yes."

The other girls went on a rant about how they were right and Forster continued to vomit slugs into the bucket.

"You three need to settle down!" Shadis ordered.

Liddle looked at me. His eyes had a little bit of shock in them, but mostly, it was disappointment, "Why?"

"Songal and Rao are still calling me mudblood. Asírós has done nothing but give me angry looks during class. And Forster has started bullying Theo. He's been calling him a bastard and he also calls me a mudblood," I explained.

"Wait... They _still_ call you that?" Liddle asked.

"Yeah, did you think they stopped? Even if they wanted to, they probably couldn't call me Arlert because my name is mudblood to them."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"What are _you_ going to do about it? Clearly, they don't care if you give them detention. I speak from experience when I say that bullying rarely stops when you confront them about it," I threw back.

"Last year was your only experience-"

"I went to muggle schools for _four years_ before I got my acceptance letter. I never got a break from it," I spat.

Songal and Rao got bored and started polishing their jewellery somewhere in the middle of my rant. Asírós kept her arm around Forster as he threw up more slugs. Theo looked confused and Liddle looked like he felt guilty. Good.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Shadis started, "But you admitted that you were the first to draw your wand and you still need to be punished for it."

"I know. I just don't like it when people make assumptions about me," I replied. I crossed my arms and sighed. My ring started turning red.

"So who actually used spells?"

"I used _Eat slugs_ and _Diffindo_. Forster used _Everte Statum,_ " I explained. "No one else used any spells."

"You realise that you could have severely injured Forster, right?" Liddle questioned.

"Yes, but I didn't cut him."

"Arlert, please try to stay calm," Shadis requested.

I blew a lock of hair out of my face and leaned back in my chair. My ring was still red.

"What exactly happened?"

I explained the duel in full detail. Starting from Forster's annoying mouth and ending with Liddle disarming Theo. And occasionally getting interrupted by Forster hacking another slug.

The headmaster nodded his head, "I'll give you all a choice," he said. "Either you lose 50 house points each, or you serve one week of detention. Except for you, Asírós. You have to take detention regardless because you're an exchange student."

 _That would be 250 points in total._ I thought.

Liddle glared at all of us.

"Detention," we all said in unison.

"But... This means Amanda and I are still on the Quidditch team, right?" Theo asked.

"Yes, but pull something like this again and I won't be as forgiving. Liddle will escort you to your dorms. You may take your wands back."

"Can I go to the hospital wing now?" Forster asked.

"Right, escort Mr Forster to Meaburn too, please."

"Yes, sir," Liddle replied.

"Headmaster?" Theo interrupted. "Can Amanda and I speak to you?"

"Sure." Shadis nodded towards the exit and Liddle led the others out. "What is it?"

"Have you received an owl from my mum yet?"

"I have."

Theo sighed, "So, you know about the funeral in a couple of days," he guessed.

"Yes... I'm very sorry for your loss. Is there anything I should be concerned with?"

"Amanda is invited. I don't know if my mum mentioned that in the letter so I wanted to let you know. She's coming for emotional support. Basic family..." he replied.

 _Basic family.._. Weird.

I realised that my ring was pink and I quickly put my hand into my pocket. I glanced over to Theo and he was already looking at me. I averted my eyes and looked down. He definitely saw it.

"Yes, your mum mentioned that you wanted to bring a friend. The funeral is on the 25th, right?"

Theo nodded his head.

"The train will be waiting for you two tomorrow morning. You two can serve your detention once you get back."

"Thank you, sir," Theo thanked.

"Liddle should be coming back to escort you two. I'd like you to wait for him to come back," The headmaster requested.

A few minutes later, Liddle came back and we left his office.

"I'm really disappointed in you two... You were the best-behaved students in your age group," he told us as we walked.

"Wow, really? Calling me Arlert didn't make that obvious enough," I muttered with harsh sarcasm.

"What-?"

"I told you that it hurt when Theo called me by my last name. And it still hurts when someone I look up to or someone who promised to _help_ me _,_ someone like you _,_ does that," I spat.

"It would be helpful if I knew why."

"Because it makes me feel like you don't trust me anymore."

We approached the secret wall and Liddle spoke the password, "If I'm honest, Amanda. I really don't anymore," he admitted.

"Then don't call me Amanda! Only friends are allowed to call me that," I said bitterly and went into the common room.

Theo and I parted ways into our dorms. I jumped onto my bed and drew the hangings. I buried my face into my pillow and took a heavy sigh. I considered Liddle a friend. I didn't even need to ask for help from him. He knew when I needed it and gave it to me. When Armin was kidnapped and I spent the night in the common room, he stayed and made sure I was safe. He had a book, so it wasn't creepy, but he got zero sleep that night.

I angrily groaned into my pillow. My emotions were everywhere. I was angry, devastated, frustrated, helpless. Even my ring was confused. The colours of the gem shifted and swirled.

I took it off and it turned green. I took a heavy sigh and tried to calm down. Liddle wasn't a friend like Jade or Theo. I didn't even know his first name. He was more like a casual friend, but I was still sad.

"Amanda, are you okay?" Jade's voice echoed.

"Just tired," I lied. 

I explained to Armin and my roommates about the funeral and when I'd be back. Theo and I left after breakfast to go to the train. It was completely empty aside from us. It felt strange.

We chose a random compartment and settled down for the long ride. Theo laid on his back and pet Amber as she curled in his chest. Sylvana was still back in my dorm. Theo brought Amber because he didn't trust her with Forster. I wouldn't either.  
  
  


12 hours later, we finally arrived at 9 3/4. We passed through the barrier and right outside was his pregnant mum and a mysterious man waiting for us. Theo looked so much like his mum. He had her hair and their freckles looked almost identical to each other. He also had her pale skin. The only difference was the eyes. Her eyes were sky blue.

His mum looked at me and approached me, "Hello, who might you be?" she asked and held out her hand for a handshake.

"This is Amanda, Mum. Amanda, this is my mum," Theo spoke up before his eyes steeled over and he said in a forced way "... and Phineas."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs Foster," I greeted.

Phineas looked at Theo with a little bit of confusion, "I... wasn't expecting you to bring a girl to stay over. You're not... planning anything, are you?"

I faltered, "Huh?"

"Phineas, please!" Theo exclaimed and turned to me. "We have a guest room," he assured.

"Yes, have you travelled by The Floo Network before?" Mrs Foster questioned.

I shook my head.

"Theo, why don't you show her." We walked to a hidden fireplace big enough for an adult to walk in. Mrs Foster pulled out a container and opened it. Inside was what looked like a bunch of dust.

"This is Floo Powder. All you do is grab a handful, walk into the fireplace, say your destination loud and clear, and drop the powder. It's very important that you speak very clearly, otherwise, you'll end up somewhere else," she explained.

Theo scooped up Amber into his right arm and took a handful in his left hand. He stepped into the fireplace, "Foster residence!" he spoke and dropped the Floo Powder. Amber meowed and a green flame rose and engulfed them. I stepped back and watched in shock. Once the flames cleared, he was gone.

"It's perfectly safe. Do you think you're ready?" Mrs Foster asked.

"Okay..." I grabbed the powder and stepped in. I took a deep breath and spoke firmly, "Foster residence!" then dropped the powder.

The green flames surrounded me and dust swirled around me. I accidentally breathed some in and started coughing. I squeezed my eyes closed and I felt a force push me forward. I stepped forward and continued to cough. My glasses were completely covered in ash, so I took them off. I opened my eyes and fanned the dust cloud away from my face.

Theo came up next to me and nudged me forward into the house, "You okay?"

"I guess," I replied and coughed again.

Theo whipped his hair out of his face and ran his hand through it. A small dust cloud fell out of his head. Theo let Amber down and she shook all the powder off her body. Theo and I dusted off all the powder on our robes.

The ash eventually settled down and I wiped my glasses off. I couldn't see before because I was blinded by all the powder, but one of the lenses was cracked.

Mrs Foster and Phineas eventually arrived. How a pregnant woman could go through that was beyond me. My eyes were clear enough to look around, though I didn't put my glasses on. The house was pretty big. A lot bigger than any I've been in. The floor was tiled with marble and I spotted a few vases scattered on tables and drawers. I thought that Theo was higher class than me, but this looked like he was on the higher end of the upper-middle class.

"Is everything okay?" Mrs Foster asked.

I showed her my glasses, "Almost."

"Oh, that's fine." She pulled out her wand, _"Oculus Reparo!"_

The cracks disappeared and I was able to put them on. Their house looked a lot better when I could see clearly. I could have spent minutes looking around if I wasn't so tired.

"I'm going to bed. Flicky will show you to the guest room," Theo yawned.

"Who's Flicky?"

A small elf dressed in a pillowcase with holes approached us. I squeaked and withdrew a little. I didn't mean to, I was just startled.

"Our house elf. She'll help you with anything. There should be towels and a shower in the guest room. Make yourself at home," Theo explained.

Flicky snapped her fingers and our trunks levitated.

"Oh, I can carry that-"

"You is a guest. Flicky must helps guests. Request from Master," she insisted.

I decided not to fight it and followed her up the stairs. Theo and I separated and Flicky led me to the guest room. I decided to take a shower. I was so dirty from the Floo Network. I only took a few minutes and dried myself off. By the time I was dry, it felt like it was midnight, but it was 10:15. I changed into my pyjamas and crashed. 

I woke up at around nine the next day. I woke up to find my robes clean and hung on the wall. I wasn't used to all this service. I got out of bed and took off my pyjama pants. I reached for my robes when I heard a knock on the door and jumped.

"Are you up, Amanda?" It was Theo.

"Yeah!" I shouted back.

"Are you presentable?"

I pulled my robes off the wall and covered myself, "No, I don't have any pants on."

I mentally slapped myself and blushed. _TMI, Amanda! He didn't need to know that!_

There was a moment of silence between us. I sighed and hoped he'd say something soon.

"...Well, there's breakfast downstairs. Just wanted to let you know." His voice came out a little strange.

I blushed, "Thanks. I'll be down in a minute."

I heard his footsteps leave and I pulled the tights over my legs. I didn't bring any clothing other than my uniform and a black dress for the funeral.

I got dressed and walked down the stairs. I heard Theo's mum in a room close to the door, so I assumed that was the kitchen. I walked in and Flicky was at the entrance waiting for me.

"Please, sit down," she said.

I followed her to the table and she pulled out a seat next to Theo for me. I sat down and she pushed the chair back in.

"Did you sleep well?" Mrs Forster asked.

"Yes. Thank you for having me."

Flicky came to the table with a green pear and gave it to me. I chuckled and thanked her.

I looked over at Theo. He wasn't wearing his school robes. He wore a black robe with a crest that had three green conch horns. I assumed it was his family crest, "Do you want to do anything today?"

"I was thinking about stopping by Diagon Alley earlier. Maybe just stay there for a little bit, then start on my eulogy," he replied.

"When are we leaving?" Phineas asked, placing his cup of tea back on the table.

"You're not invited, Phineas. You need to stay here and take care of my mother," Theo ordered.

"Isn't that what the house elf is for?"

 _"The house elf_ has a name. Flicky isn't a slave. Amanda and I will be going alone."

I glanced over to him and blushed.

"Are you trying to take her on a date?" Mrs Foster questioned.

"Mum, quit trying to scare her."

"I'm just asking. What shop do you want to stop by?"

"The ice cream parlour. That shouldn't be as crowded."

"Okay. When will you be back?"

Theo turned to the wall and looked at the clock, "Noon should be good. Is that okay with you?" he asked.

"Oh? Anything is fine with me," I replied.

"Okay, I'm ready when you are."

We finished up breakfast and went to the fireplace to use the Floo Powder. Theo went before me, then it was my turn.

"Diagon Alley!" Something must have gone wrong because I very clumsily stumbled out of the other location's fireplace and hit a wall with jewellery. My knee scraped against the rough stone floor and I made a mess.

After the dust settled down, I opened my eyes to see a pair of small feet in front of me. It was a house elf. I thought I somehow was still at Theo's house, but I looked around and I saw that it was a shop.

The elf snapped its fingers and all the dust on me and the floor disappeared, "Is you okay?" it asked. It had a very high pitched male voice.

"I'm okay. Sorry, I messed up in the Floo Network," I explained and stood up. I looked down at my knee. I had ripped my tights and it was bleeding.

The house elf saw and looked up at me, "Silky must takes care of that."

"Oh, no. It's fine-"

"Orders from Mistress." Silky grabbed my robe and pulled me towards the front. I looked around the store as I followed him. There was clothing and expensive looking boots and accessories. I had a few galleons on me. I also hadn't gotten something for Theo's birthday yet. This might work out in my favour.

Silky took me to the cash register and levitated me onto it. He jumped up next to me and looked at my knee.

A woman with curly, fiery red hair and green eyes came running in. She looked so familiar. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Oh dear!" She was holding a box of various items and dropped it next to the table.

"I'm so sorry. Something went wrong with the Floo Network. There's a huge mess. I can clean it up-"

"Oh, no! I wouldn't ask you to do that, sweetheart. Are you okay?"

"Customer has a scraped knee, mistress," Silky informed.

The woman looked at my knee, "Good, nothing too major. Silky will take care of you. He has experience in healing. My son, Andy, got attacked by a lot of animals when he tried to help them in his childhood. You'll be okay," she assured and took out her wand.

Silky put his hands over my knee and started healing me. The woman fixed the mess I made and put all the jewellery back where it belonged. Once my knee was healed, Silky went a step farther and fixed the rips in my tights.

"...What's the box for?" I asked.

The woman turned to me, "It's for items that need to be disposed of. They're worn out or defective and therefore, unsellable."

My tights were fixed by that point and I jumped down, "If you're just going to throw them away, can I look at them? It's one of my friend's birthday."

"Help yourself."

I pushed some items aside and looked for something Theo would like. The box had mostly rings with missing gems and broken necklace chains, but I found one thing that was still functioning.

It was a silver pocket watch. It had chipping paint and underneath looked like copper, but it still worked properly. There was even a glass pane to hold a picture. The outside was decorated with a vine pattern painted on with a darker silver. The chain was still holding strong and the time displayed was correct.

"How much for this?"

"You can have it for free. It's going to be burned if you don't want it."

"Thank you. I'll see if I can come back sometime," I beamed.

"I'll be sure to remember you when you do. Have a nice day," she replied.

"Thanks! You too!" I called back and left the store.

I stepped out and turned to see what the shop was called. When I read the sign, everything hit me like a slap to the face. No wonder that woman looked familiar. The sign read _Songal's Fancies._ It was my bully's company.

I never would have guessed. The mum was so nice. Where did her daughter learn to be so mean?

I looked down and put the pocket watch in my pocket. _I should look for Theo. I was in there for a while._ I figured.  
  


~Theo POV~

I dusted myself off and stood next to the fireplace to wait for Amanda. A few wizards stepped out, but none were Amanda. I figured she might have teleported directly to the ice cream parlour, so I left.

I got a lot of weird looked when I got to the store.

"Shouldn't you be in school, young man?" The cashier asked when I walked up.

"I'm out to drown my feelings with food," I reasoned.

"Are you a Hufflepuff?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned around and saw a little boy holding a man's hand. The boy looked like a five-year-old to me. I shook my head and tried to turn back, but he continued talking.

"My dad is a Hufflepuff. I'm going to be a Hufflepuff when I go to Hogwarts! I have to wait six more years until I get my acceptance letter. If you're not a Hufflepuff, then-"

The man cupped his hand over the boy's mouth, "I apologise for my son," he said.

I shook it off and turned around to order. I ordered a butterbeer float... In the largest size they had.

"Are you sure you're not a Hufflepuff?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "I'm a Slytherin. The reason why I'm not in school right now is because I duelled in the hallways," I said.

It wasn't completely a lie. But if it stopped people from asking me if I was a Hufflepuff, then I didn't care if it was a lie or not. The last thing I need is to spoil my birthday by continuously thinking about my dad.

I took a seat and mixed the ice cream with the butterbeer. My thoughts turned to Amanda and I immediately covered half of my face.

We both agreed that it would be easier for both of us if she just stayed at my house for the time we had out of school. I didn't think it would be a problem, but boy was I _wrong._ When she saw Flicky, she squeaked. It was adorable... She brought her arms to her chest and was sort of like, _"Eep!"_ It was at that point when I realised that the next few days were going to be the most difficult days of my life.

Then, there was the morning. I walked to her room to tell her that breakfast was ready and she tells me she doesn't have any pants on. I made the mistake of picturing her.

I cupped both of my hands over my face and blushed. _Merlin's beard, Theo. You're completely helpless._

I spooned up some ice cream and tried to think of anything but my feelings for her. I didn't really amount to much.

 _Honestly, if you don't learn to control yourself, she'll know by the end of the week._ I told myself.

I sighed and rested my head on my hand. That was when Amanda walked up holding a small bowl of mint with chocolate chips in it.

"Sorry I took so long. I messed up with the Floo Powder," she apologised and sat down.

"Oh, it's fine. I haven't been here long," I replied.

She nodded her head and looked down, "I, uh... I got you something."

I raised my head from my hand, "You remembered..."

"Of course I did! What kind of a friend would I be if I forgot?" she retorted and slapped my arm. Was it weird that I liked how she was feisty? Probably.

She reached into her pocket and took out a pocket watch. It was a beautiful colour of silver and it had a clip to attach to my robes.

As I examined it, Amanda awkwardly spooned herself some ice cream, "I wish I could have found a better one. I just noticed that you rely on the clocks at school and I thought that might help. I'm sorry about the chipping paint. I-"

"Amanda!" I cut her off and put my hand on her forearm. She gasped and looked at me. "I love it. Thank you."

She smiled and awkwardly looked down. Her ring started turning pink. I withdrew my hand and her ring turned purple. If I had a ring like that, she would have known about my feelings ages ago.

We started having some friendly conversation and Amanda asked me about my family.

"How long have you had Flicky?"

"We got her when my dad's health started to decline. I was around 8 when we got her. She was a great help. He wouldn't have lived as long as he did without her."

"She said _Request from Master_ when we got to your house last night. Is that...?"

"That would be me. Ownership is passed from father to heir. It was passed to me when my dad died," I explained.

She nodded her head and I sighed. I figured I knew what she was thinking.

"I don't like that word, _ownership_. House-elves have a magical bond to a witch or wizard that gives them their magic. In return, they serve us and they take the magic power as their payment. The bond is broken if the house elf is given clothes. House-elf abuse was a big thing a while ago, but it's gotten better. Flicky refuses payment of any other kind for her service, but we don't abuse her... At least, I don't. I can't say anything about Phineas."

"I see," she said.

We stayed there until noon and we made our way back to the fireplace to travel back.

I went first again and held my breath as I travelled. I stepped into the house and Flicky approached me. Amanda soon followed and Flicky cleared all the dust.

"Is Mum home?" I asked.

"Mistress left after breakfast, sir. Mistress says she be back soon," Flicky replied.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "Did she give a time?"

"No, sir."

"Of course not!" I grumbled.

"Has this been a common thing?" Amanda questioned.

"Yeah. She leaves for hours at a time with Phineas and usually spends a fortune. He likes to spoil her," I explained and turned to her. "I'm going to write my eulogy. I have some books in my room that you can read to pass the time."

"Sure," she replied.  
  
  


~Amanda POV~

We walked up to his room and I closed the door behind us. Theo placed his wand on its holder on the nightstand and I looked around the room. I noticed a picture on his nightstand and examined it. It was a picture of him and his dad in front of the Hogwarts Express.

"...When was that taken?" I asked and pointed to the photo.

He turned around and saw what I was looking at, "That was taken before the train ride in first year," he explained and grabbed a notepad. He sat down in a reclining chair in the corner and started writing.

I continued to look around his room. It was a lot bigger and the one I share with Armin at home. I found a few more pictures on the walls and on his desk next to the window. Most were of him and his dad, one was of Amber, who was curled up in her bed in the corner. None of them had his mum in them. I didn't need to ask why. He wasn't going to ever forgive her for the affair.

I walked to his bookshelf and browsed the books. His old textbooks were among them, but most of them were about charms. I found one about potions and pulled it off.

I turned away from the shelf and walked to his desk. I turned the seat of the chair and started reading once my legs were under the desk. Theo and I didn't say anything. The only sounds in the room were Theo's quill, me flipping the pages, and Amber purring in her sleep.

The book was a collection of potions healers use. I found one that looked familiar to me. It was called _Skele-Gro_. I never heard of it before, but I knew it from somewhere. I read the effects to see if it would help jog my memory.

_"Skele-Gro is used to heal broken bones and even regenerating vanished bones. The potion is very distasteful and burns on the way down. Skele-Gro is a very slow-acting potion. The time for regrowing bones varies depending on how many bones need to regenerate, but it is always an agonizing process. You'll know if you brewed it correctly if the potion smokes when poured."_   
  
  


After reading, I remembered where I'd seen it. It was the potion Theo took when he broke his ribs in the game with Ravenclaw.

I continued to read on some random potions until I got bored and spun myself around in the chair. I backed up from his desk and kept the book on my lap as I spun around. Somewhere in the middle of that, Theo stopped writing and I didn't hear the scratching of his quill anymore.

 _He's probably looking._ I didn't look at him to confirm what he was doing. I just kept my head down and used my foot to keep spinning in the chair.

After a few minutes of doing this, I rolled the chair over to his bookshelf and grabbed a heavy charms book. I put the book on one of the armrests and the potions one on the other. I spun around and pulled the two books to my chest to go faster. I slipped down the chair as I spun, but managed to stay on.

I straightened up and did it again, this time, I pushed myself around harder. I made the mistake of leaning forward and the weight of the books pulled me off the chair.

"Ack-!" I squealed before landing on my face in front of Theo. I looked up and he was looking past me towards the door. I turned around, straightened my glasses, and smiled awkwardly. It was his mum.

"What is going on here?" she asked squinting a little bit.

"Mum, I've been writing my eulogy and she's been spinning in the chair for the past 10 minutes."

"Is there something you're not telling me, Theo?" she questioned and crossed her arms.

I knew what she was getting at. I was on my knees right in front of him and he didn't exactly have his legs crossed. I was tempted to say something like, _Yeah, totally. That's what I gave him for his birthday._ But I didn't think that she would have understood it was a joke.

He looked at her dead in the eye, "Nothing happened while you were gone."

She pursed her lips and looked at me with one eyebrow raised, "Lunch is ready..." she stated and left closing the door.

I turned to Theo, "I could have said something there, but..."

He looked at me in confusion for a moment before the realisation hit him and he covered his face with his notepad, "Don't. Ever. Please."

 _"Don't ever_ say that to your mum or-"

"Don't finish that statement," he sputtered and kept his face hidden.

I stopped talking and got onto my feet. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearly one o'clock, "Are you going downstairs? You should take a break, anyway. It's been nearly an hour."

"I'll be down in a minute. You go ahead of me," he replied.  
  


~Theo POV~

The rest of my birthday was pretty uneventful. We had lunch, I finished my eulogy, and my mum gave me some money for my birthday. The next day was the funeral. I woke up early to get ready. I wore all black dress robes. I took a handkerchief with me. I was going to cry through the entire thing.

I had fought my mum to leave Phineas at home, but she insisted on bringing him to the funeral. She didn't care that many family members from my dad's side were going to be there. Going to her husband's funeral with another man and pregnant is her way of showing respect.

Amanda came down after me. She had a sleeveless black dress and her hair was styled in front of her right shoulder. She didn't wear any make-up, which didn't surprise me. She wasn't one to do that. She gave me a sympathetic smile as she came down. I was already getting emotional and sighed.

"Just a warning, I'm going to be an absolute mess out there."

"It's fine. I'm here for emotional support, remember? I won't judge you for anything that happens today," she comforted.

I didn't know how to reply without bawling right there before it even started. I just stepped forward and hugged her. She hugged me back. She truly was an amazing friend.

We broke apart when Mum approached us with Phineas, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," I replied and let go of Amanda.  
  
  


We were the first ones to arrive. Mum took Phineas to all the photos on display and explained all the events that happened. I didn't want to be around them, so I went straight to the casket. Amanda followed me.

His name was engraved on the side of the casket. **_Hugh Foster._**

It was too much. I immediately started crying. Amanda came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and sighed. His face still looked so young. His hands were laced together and his wand was placed between his left thumb and index finger. He was left-handed, like me. People started pouring in and going to my mum to talk. They all took one look at Phineas and knew what happened. My grandmother was especially unamused.

I stood silently with Amanda and my aunts and uncles awkwardly talked to my mum. They asked questions mostly about me. _How has Theo been? Where is he?_

It didn't help that Mum answered everything like it meant nothing. Even Phineas tried to talk about me like I was his son.

"He's by the casket with his girlfriend," I heard him say behind me.

I shot him a glare and my aunts and uncles looked at me. I wrapped my hand around Amanda's shoulder and pulled her away from the casket. I really didn't want anyone talking to me.

Mum and my grandparents moved from the photos and went to the casket. I went to the pictures when everyone was at the casket. People passed by Amanda and me as they came. I scanned the photos and continued to get emotional. They all were from times I wanted to have back. There was one of him holding me when I was a newborn.

Another was a family photo when I was three. Some were from before I was born. There was one of both him and Mum when they were still students, my dad wearing his Hufflepuff robes and my mum in her Slytherin ones. They became good friends after The Battle of Hogwarts and they started dating once they had stable and well-paying jobs after graduation.

My parents knew each other for years before they started dating. And all it took was a few drinks and a dying husband to let Phineas in.  
  
  


~Amanda POV~

The wake passed and people soon started presenting their eulogies. Theo took a seat on the opposite side of his mum. I followed him, as I didn't know anyone there. His grandma went first, followed by Mrs Foster, then Hugh's siblings. Many of them made jokes and made us all laugh, but Theo still cried through many of them.

I kept my arm around him the entire time until it was his turn to go up. He took a deep breath and I gave him a hug before he went up.

He walked up to the podium and took one last deep breath, "Hey, everyone... There are many faces that I don't recognise and others I've never seen before. For those who don't know me, I'm Theon, Hugh's son. I was his only child and the highlights of my childhood are things that he did for me.

He told me constantly that his life instantly got better when I was born and that he loved me. I wasn't around for many of the hectic moments of his life, but I've heard stories from him and from people here today.

He was diagnosed with the family disease when he was 12. Everyone was shocked. It was last seen over 3 generations before him. He still managed to remain positive and made the most out of life. He had many near-death situations, and every time, he'd keep his optimistic attitude throughout everything.

My father was the strongest man I've ever met in my life. He never gave up on me and always encouraged me to chase my dreams. One of his accomplishments that I found most impressive was fighting and surviving The Battle of Hogwarts. That's where he met my mum and as we all can see, the rest is history."

 _Ouch._ I thought.

"He played a big role in making my life a joyful one. I never got to tell him how much the littlest things he did helped me. I always loved being read to by him, even now. I'd pay anything to have that again.

He made it such a priority to make my life happy, that I didn't even know about the disease until I was eight. He taught me important life lessons that I'll never forget. He taught me to listen to understand, not to reply."

Theo sighed and took out his handkerchief. He wiped his eyes and resumed reading with a shaky voice.

"Of course, throughout all of this, he had his moments of sadness and depression. When I visited him in December at St. Mungo's, he told me that his wellbeing was _'at an all-time low.'_ I had never seen him that depressed prior to that."

His voice shattered and he paused for a moment to cry. I also began tearing up as I started thinking about my parents and their deaths.

"Hugh was the reason I'm the person I am today. He was the most important man in my life. A man that could **_never_** be replaced."

He looked up and stared at his mother through his tearful eyes. She looked away and clearly felt a little bit of shame. Phineas grabbed her hand. Her expression didn't change, but she didn't pull away.

"Life will never be the same without him. I just hope that he finds peace with himself as he goes to a better place.

I love you, Dad. I miss you so much."

Theo stepped down and we gave him a respectful round of applause. He sat back down next to me and I immediately gave him a hug. He was sobbing uncontrollably and shaking.

"You did great, Theo. It's okay..." I rubbed his back and comforted him.

He covered his face with his handkerchief, "Thank you..." he choked out.

As the last part of the funeral was about to take place, I withdrew from Theo and wiped my eyes as I was also crying. We both faced the front and I grabbed Theo's hand. He was clearly caught off guard, but he gave me a small smile and squeezed my hand.

Finally, we all drew our wands and pointed them to the sky. A white light engulfed the casket and once the light died down, a white marble tomb had taken its place. Hugh's name, along with his year of birth and death, were carved into the side.

We lowered our wands and wrapped up. I held Theo's hand the entire time.

 


	30. The Quidditch Cup

~Armin POV~

**"Gryffindor scores again!"**

Our game with Gryffindor came up in March. No matter who won the game, we wouldn't finish in first, so we played before the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff game.

**"30 minutes on the clock. The score is 160-0 in favour of Gryffindor."**

Eren hit a Bludger to me whenever he had the chance. They kept climbing up in points because I wasn't able to get to the hoops and block the Quaffle.

**"26 minutes, Ravenclaw has taken possession!"**

Rico managed to grab the Quaffle before it went through the hoop and she flew to another hoop.

Eren directed his attention to Rico. There weren't any Bludgers coming his way, so he took a moment to rest. He stretched his back and wiped his forearm over his glistening forehead. He was sweaty. _Really_ sweaty. It was a warm afternoon and our Quidditch gear doesn't have much insulation. Even after wiping over his forehead, he still was quite sweaty. But my God, he was hot.

**"Chaser Rico scores for Ravenclaw!"**

Eren flew over to me as I caught my breath, "You've been looking my direction a lot this game," he teased and elbowed me.

"That's your own fault. I'd be looking at the Quaffle if you didn't keep sending me Bludgers."

"But what if I don't want you to take your eyes off of me?" he moved a little closer and asked with a smirk.

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I replied truthfully, "You don't need Bludgers to do that."

He moved away a little bit and looked at me. He was flustered a little bit, but not much. I started to get flustered myself as he silently stood there, staring at me.

**"Gryffindor back in possession."**

I snapped back to my game mode and chased after the Quaffle.

A Bludger flew across my path and it barely missed me. I looked in the direction it came from. It was Eren, again.

**"Mina scores for Gryffindor once again!"**

The other Gryffindor Chaser caught the Quaffle when their Seeker made a quick acceleration.

**"The snitch has been spotted!"**

Even if Connie caught the snitch, we'd still lose. They were 160 points ahead.

Our Chasers flew towards Smith with the Quaffle to try to tie the scores if Connie got the snitch. I kept my eye on Eren as I made my way to the hoops. He sent a Bludger to me, but I managed to dodge it.

**"Ravenclaw takes possession. Gryffindor is pulling ahead!"**

Really, this was unfair. Kirstein had a _Firebolt!_ How was Connie supposed to get to it before him?

I looked for our Beaters and Gabi caught my eye. She was barely even doing her role. I looked at her with urgency. She got the hint and flew into an open place in the field. A Bludger came her way and she hit it to their Seeker.

**"Kirstein has taken a hit! Ravenclaw is pulling ahead!"**

Historia had the Quaffle. She had two choices. Pass to Hanji (who was the closest to her), or throw at the hoop that was already guarded by her girlfriend, Ymir.

She chose to go for it. She threw it at the hoop and as expected, Ymir blocked it.

Before she could throw it to one of her teammates, the timer stopped. Connie caught the snitch, but we still lost.

 **"Ravenclaw has claimed the snitch, but Gryffindor remains in first place with 170-160. Ravenclaw is placed in fourth, and Gryffindor in third overall."** Ackerman announced.

We left the field and once we were in our meeting room, Gabi pulled off her Quidditch robe. There was no convincing her to stay. Before we went into the changing rooms, Rico pulled us aside.

"We all tried our best. It's been a great year, despite the loss," she said. "Next year will be my final year. I've been looking at who is best fit to take over as captain when I'm gone."

She looked at me.

"Armin, would you like to be the next captain?" she asked.

I widened my eyes, _"What?"_

"I want you to be the next captain. You've proven yourself capable and dedicated enough for it. I want to spend next year with you as my 'assistant' per se. I'll consult you for choices and give you responsibility for some practices before you do it on your own. That is, of course, if you want to be captain," she explained.

"But-- Why me? I just completely bombed the game! Hanji has more experience. What about Historia or Connie? What makes me special?" Part of me didn't believe I was the best choice.

"Hanji has told me that she doesn't want to be captain. You also made the best plans for games in your first year of planning. I think you're responsible enough and clever enough to give us a win next year. Would you like to be captain?"

I looked around at everyone and they were all waiting for an answer. I looked at Connie. He smiled and hit my shoulder.

"Okay, I'll do it."  
  
  


April came around and the school was met with heavy rain for a week. Thanks to this, the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff game was postponed to late May. During this time, Eren and I started helping Theo and Amanda with their finals in the Great Hall. I noticed that they were both having trouble getting things done during lunch, so we offered help.

Amanda was cool with talking around Eren. She said that the rumours about her were getting worse. Theo wasn't as open with us and said not to worry. He says that a lot.

Early May came around and Eren, Amanda, and I were at the Slytherin table waiting for Theo.

"He said he needed to get something from his dorm. He doesn't usually take this long, though," Amanda told us.

He came in a few minutes later with his supplies and a note. He dropped his bag next to Amanda and sat down. He curled his lips and sighed, looking at the letter. I couldn't tell if he was scared or angry.

"What is it?" Amanda asked.

"It's from my mum..." he grumbled.

Amanda must have known what it was because she gasped slightly.

"Is there a problem?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, my mother," he replied bitterly and tore open the letter.

I opened Amanda's textbook and went over the notes I put in and let Theo read his note. I wasn't expecting him to share, but he did.

"Twins... A girl and a boy... Samantha and William," he monotoned.

I already knew about his mum's affair. The word spread really quickly because everyone knows who he is. When you're on the Quidditch team, everyone knows you. You don't necessarily become popular, but you're very easily recognisable in the halls.

None of us knew what to say. Theo crumpled the paper and put it in his pocket.

"Let's just get started," he grumbled and opened his textbook.  
  
  


The game came just before finals. Eren and I found a good spot to watch the game and Connie sat next to me. Kirstein also joined us and sat on the other side of Eren. Ackerman wasn't doing the announcements for this game. Instead, one of Amanda's roommates, Ruth, was doing it.

**"Okay y'all, today is a special day! Slytherin and Hufflepuff both have performed amazingly this season, but only one can win the Quidditch Cup. Both teams have practised hard, but Hufflepuff is out for blood-!"**

**"Alston, the words** ** _Hufflepuff_** **and** ** _blood_** **don't work in the same sentence,"** Professor Hannes said, loud enough for the speaker to pick up.

 **"It keeps people interested. We can't have boring statements for the biggest game of the year,"** Ruth argued.

The teams stepped onto the field and the crowds erupted.

**"As usual, the game is put on a one-hour time limit. If the Golden Snitch is not spotted within the time, the game automatically ends and the team with the most points wins."**

Levi shook hands with the Hufflepuff captain and everyone mounted their brooms.

"Good luck, Amanda!"

"Kick her ass, Mikasa!"

The Quaffle was released and, as usual, Amanda seized it.

**"The Quidditch Ice Princess takes possession. The** **o-** **What?"**

**"It's** ** _Slytherin_** **Ice Princess or** ** _Theon's_** **Ice Princess,"** Ackerman corrected.

**_"Quidditch_ ** **sounds better. Anyway, Theo is loving that."**

Amanda paused for a moment before flying up to look for an opening. Theo lowered his neck and looked down. Amanda flew down and dodged a Bludger with a barrel roll.

**"And Amanda pulls off a barrel roll! She's been trying to master that all year. I've heard some stories about close calls during practice."**

She threw the Quaffle.

 **"And she scores! Slytherin takes the lead!"** Ruth announced.

"You got this, Marco!" Kirstein cheered.

"I wouldn't bet on that, Jean," Eren joked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"My sister just outsmarted your boyfriend. That's what he meant," I bragged.

"What gave you that idea? I was talking about _my_ sister," Eren clarified.

**"Save by Annie. She passes the Quaffle to Levi."**

I turned to him, "And what does Mikasa have to do with Bott? He's not getting in the way of anything she's doing."

"Well, she's the one who's going to win for Slytherin. Without her, the team would be nothing."

"Catching the snitch isn't the only way to win. Don't you remember our game? You guys won because your Chasers kept scoring."

"Yeah, Marco isn't going to let your sister go through 16 times," Kirstein interrupted.

**"Hufflepuff blocks the throw!"**

"See!"

"All of you, shut up! My girlfriend has been training the hardest out of all of them!" Connie broke in.

"How do you know that?" Kirstein questioned.

"You think I don't watch her practise sometimes? She wears herself out so much, I've had to support her as she walks back to her common room. I had to carry her on my back her last practise. She made sure she was prepared for today."

I pictured Connie carrying Sasha after an exhausting practise session. I giggled, "Honestly, that's adorable," I commented.

"She's the real star of the game," Connie smirked.

 **"The Hufflepuff Seeker just made a dive. Looks like it's the snitch!"** Ruth shouted. **"Slytherin is still in the lead with 60-50. Both Seekers are at neck and neck!"**

"Come on, Mikasa! Show 'em who's boss!" Eren cheered.

One of the Hufflepuff Chasers tossed the Quaffle to a teammate and Mikasa happened to be flying by at the worst time. She got hit in the face and she covered her nose. The person who threw it cupped their hand over their mouth.

**"Did she just get hit in the face with the Quaffle? She's falling behind!"**

"Go, Sasha!" Connie shouted.

Mikasa started accelerating and caught up to Sasha, but it was too late.

The timer froze and the scoreboard changed to 200-60. Shasha flew up above everyone with the biggest smile on her face. Loud cheers erupted from the crowds.

 **"So close... Hufflepuff has claimed the snitch and 150 more points. They've won the Quidditch cup,"** Ruth announced. There was some lament in her voice.

Connie shouted out to Sasha and waved at her. She was flying around randomly and celebrating with herself.

"Anything you three want to say?" Connie bragged.

"Congratulations," Eren monotoned.

Connie ran off the stands and started walking towards the field. We followed him. Once he was on the field, Sasha flew down and tackled him with a hug, still holding the snitch. Connie spun her around a few times before she withdrew her head and kissed him, deeply. Connie widened his eyes, but kept his arms around her. Sasha soon pulled away in a fluster.

"Sorry!"

"No, it's okay. I didn't mind," he replied.

She smiled, "Drinks are on him!" she shouted to break the awkwardness.

"Hold on, what? I never said anything about that."

"You got last place. It only makes sense."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "I'm not getting anything too expensive."

Eren and I walked over to the Slytherin team. Mikasa's nose was bleeding and Amanda was really upset.

"We almost had it..." she lamented. "A bloody Quaffle to the face! How'd that even happen?"

"Hey, we'll get it next year-" Braun reached out to pat her on the shoulder, but she swatted his hand away, to which, Theo sneered at him.

Annie had her hand on Mikasa's shoulder and rubbed it. The Chaser that threw the Quaffle approached us. He had a gender-neutral looking face, but I guessed he was a boy because of how short his hair was and his chest was flat. He had bronze skin and brown hair and eyes. If I had to guess, I'd say he was Malaysian.

"Hey, how's your nose?" he asked.

Annie immediately lit up with rage, "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Maxwell Leong. How bad is the injury?"

Mikasa removed her hand and Leong bent down to examine her nose.

"Is it broken?"

She shook her head.

"Good, this shouldn't hurt as much then." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her nose, _"Episkey!"_

Mikasa winced but it didn't seem to hurt her much. She wiped the blood off with her sleeve and she stopped bleeding.

Annie put her hands on Mikasa's shoulders, "Is it better?"

"Yeah."

Two older students started approaching us. One was a Latino Gryffindor prefect wearing the girl's uniform and the other was a Slytherin prefect I had seen before, Liddle.

Liddle walked up looking at Leong and slowly clapping with a sarcastic smirk, "You had one job."

"You try playing Quidditch for five years and not mess up."

"I have better things to do than play with wizard balls."

The one in the skirt chuckled, "You sure about that?" he asked. Yes, _he._

Liddle punched him in the shoulder, "Honestly, Rodri. You need to learn to put on a filter when there are children around."

"Look at me in the eye and tell me you didn't make jokes like that when you were 12," he dared.

"Don't you have something to say to her?" Annie asked looking at Leong and completely ignoring the other two.

"Sorry about hitting you in the face."

"Thank you," Annie huffed and kissed Mikasa on the cheek.

The entire team gasped and Eren widened his eyes, "You two are dating?"

"You didn't know?" Mikasa questioned and tilted her head.

"No. None of us did!" Levi retorted.

"I suppose we never said anything."

"There's a big difference between forgetting to announce and _hiding_ it," he knit his eyebrows together and said.

"Are you jealous or something?" Liddle teased and hung his arm over Leong's shoulder.

"Why would I be jealous? I just don't want any crazy make-out sessions in the showers. I expect nothing less than professionalism on this team. You know this."

"Yes, Levi," they replied.

"Well, I've got a party to get to. Better luck next year," Leong said and turned to leave. The other prefects followed him.  
  


The Slytherin team went to the showers and Eren offered to walk me back to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Do you know about that guy in the skirt?"

"Yeah, that's Rodrigo Fonsi. He's pretty gay," he explained like it meant nothing.

"Uh-"

"He flaunts it. All the time. People talking about his sexuality would be the last thing he cares about. I don't really know much about him. I've only seen him lecturing younger students."

"I thought that being gay isn't really something you announce in the wizarding world."

"It's not. He's a muggle-born, though. It must be something in the muggle world."

"Yeah. Gay marriage was once illegal in the muggle world. Since it's been legalized, lots of people wear flags and wear it like a badge," I replied.

"Must be nice..." he murmured.

We reached the tower and knocked the knocker to make sure the riddle hadn't changed. Luckily, it didn't.

"Good luck with finals," I said.

"Thanks. You too," he replied and left.  
  


Finals were nothing but stress. I got an _O_ in Charms and Transfiguration. Magical Creatures was an _E._ Divination was an _A,_ I really didn't care that much about that class. All my other grades were good, but then there was DA. I still got an _A,_ but I was just a few points away from a _Poor (P)._ Yeah, Professor Jaeger definitely hates me.

Eren finished satisfied with his grades. He was especially proud of his Magical Creatures results. He got an _O_ with quite a bit of extra points.

Theo and Amanda managed to push through. Theo got mostly _A's_ but he said the only thing he cared about was getting an _O_ in Charms. He said he'd break his wand if he didn't.

Going back to the train, I couldn't see Eren or Amanda. Connie had gone to find Sasha, so I just waited for someone to show up. I was worn out from finals, I didn't feel like pushing through all the students to find someone to sit with. Thankfully, Eren found me.

"Hey! I was looking for you," he said.

"Well, you found me."

He reached into his robe, "I wanted to give this to you." He handed me a blue-grey mirror with a handle.

I looked at my reflection confused, "Are you trying to say I need a haircut?"

"What? No, this is a two-way mirror. It allows you to communicate with other people who have one of these."

"So it's like a phone?"

"Uh... I wouldn't know. But they used to only connect to one other mirror, but we've modified them to be able to contact any mirror that has been made since the mid-2000s," he explained.

"We?"

"My family makes these. This is where we get our income. We run a wizarding communication company. It's partially why I'm good with owls."

"How do I use it?" I asked.

"Just say the person's name and you'll appear in their mirror. It makes sort of a vibrating sound when someone is trying to contact you. Turn it over to end your session."

"Thanks. I'll keep in touch with you over the summer."

"You're welcome. Now, let's board the train before it leaves without us."

 


	31. 4th Year, Life Changes

~Armin POV~

Amanda and I didn't really do anything in the summer. I spent most of my time talking to Eren with the mirror, which actually made me anxious a lot. Amanda and I share a room at home and I'm trying to hide my sexuality from her at the moment. I didn't care about the anxiety it gave me because I just really wanted to talk to Eren, but I'm pretty sure that _'No homo'_ wouldn't work on Amanda.

I've been hiding the mirror in plain sight in the bathroom and I'm usually in there when I talk to Eren. So far, Eren hasn't tried to contact me when Amanda is in the bathroom and she still doesn't know about it.

It was around mid-August when Amanda threw open the door to our room and grabbed her school robes.

I jumped and looked at her, "Why are you grabbing those?"

"Theo needs some help at home. He asked for you to come, too."

I raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"He said it's his siblings. We need to head to Diagon Alley to use their Floo Powder. Get your robes," she said.

I sighed and pulled them out from my trunk and went to the bathroom to change. I decided to bring the mirror with me. I was pretty sure I would get bored there while Theo and Amanda practised parenthood for their future.

We went to Diagon Alley and found the Floo chimney. I had already read up on the Floo Network, but I hadn't travelled by it yet. Amanda told me to hold my breath and close my eyes. I kept one hand in the pocket that had the mirror as I travelled. Thankfully, there weren't any complications.

Amanda and I dusted ourselves off and I took a look at the house. The first thing that hit me was the sound of crying babies echoing. Then, I realised that the house was big enough to create acoustics. Seriously, why is literally everyone else so rich?

A house elf approached us and snapped her fingers, clearing all the dust on us and the ground.

"Hey, Flicky. Where's Theo?" Amanda asked.

"Master is upstairs. Flicky will brings guest to him," she said.

We followed her upstairs and Theo was in the master bedroom holding Samantha, while William was in the crib. They both had freckles similar to him, but they had black hair, very different from Theo. They had onesies with their names embroidered on the front. Both of them were crying and Theo didn't look happy.

"You actually came..." he sighed and closed his eyes. He had heavy bags under his eyes and his lips were chapped and cracked. I was more than familiar with that habit. Biting my lips was something I did often during finals.

"Where's your mum?" I asked.

"Bloody hell if I know!" he seethed and rolled his eyes.

"You're home alone?"

"With the twins?" Amanda perplexed.

"That stupid man keeps taking her out of the house! If she's just going to leave, she can at least go to work since _he's_ not supporting his kids," Theo vented and pat Samantha on her back.

I walked over to the crib and picked up William, "Care to explain?" I asked and tried to soothe the baby.

"She leaves for at least 2 hours a day, but it's almost always more than that. She's been splurging on the twins and Phineas is spoiling her. She expects me to take care of them while she's gone," he ranted and then sighed. He was obviously exhausted and stressed.

I was shocked at what I was hearing, "Your mum does realize that you are nowhere near mature enough to handle this, right?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Did she at least leave a list?"

"No."

I raised my eyebrows and widened my eyes, "I have some things I'd like to say to your mother. This really doesn't make her look good."

"You can try... She won't listen to anyone but Phineas, though," he sighed.

The way he was talking to me was giving me some serious concerns for his mental health, "Theo, you really need to give yourself a break. I have high doubts that she isn't hearing you. Maybe she just needs a wake up call. Now then-"

William screamed into my ear and I had to pull him away a little bit.

"He needs to change. She probably does, too."

"Flicky," Theo ordered.

We put the twins on the changing table and Flicky hopped up on it. She snapped her fingers and everything took care of itself. After everything was done, they were still crying. They had settled down a little bit, but there was still work to be done.

"Where's the nursery?"

"The next room over..." he said sleepily.

I picked up William, "I'll be in there. Amanda, you take care of Samantha."

She sighed but did as I asked. I left them alone and went into the nursery. I walked over to the bookshelf and selected a book to read to him.

I sat in the rocking chair and positioned William on my thigh so he was facing away from me. I opened the book and pointed at the pictures. It took a little bit, but he eventually saw them and slowly stopped crying. I sighed and began reading to him. I pointed at pictures and asked him things like, "Can you say _'wand'_?"

After a while, we both started getting bored of the books. I took him into the area with toys and played with him for a while. The time on the clock slowly ticked by and both me and the baby were getting tired. I couldn't imagine how Theo could handle doing this on a daily basis.

He finally yawned after a half an hour of reading to him and one hour of playing with toys. When he yawned, I picked him up and took him back to the rocking chair with one last book. I read to him a couple of stories and slowly rocked back and forth. Eventually, he was fast asleep and I pulled out the mirror.

 _"Eren,"_ I whispered. He eventually showed up in the mirror and he was confused to see a baby sleeping on my shoulder.

"Why do you...?"

"This is Theo's half-brother. I just put him to sleep, so please don't be loud," I said quietly.

"Why are you even with them?" he whispered.

"Apparently Theo is left home alone with them a lot. He asked us for some help."

"He's watching them by himself?"

"Yeah, I really hope this doesn't continue for his own sake," I sighed. Just a couple hours with a very young infant was enough to wear me down. "How has your day been?"

"Great, actually! My mum took me to see some magical creatures today. I saw Nifflers, Bowtruckles, even some dragons!" he beamed.

"Dragons? What kinds?"

"Lots of them! I saw breeds from the Common Welsh Green to the Hungarian Horntail!" he replied.

"A Hungarian Horntail?"

"Yeah, they're considered to be the most dangerous dragons that we know of. I got to pet a Welsh Green. It was quite young an I had a lot of tamers with me."

I sighed, "Lucky you... I'm stuck here watching babies."

"The most dangerous magical creature of all!" he gasped and widened his eyes, grinning like a kid in a candy shop.

I laughed and he started laughing with me. A few seconds later, the door opened and I hid the mirror next to my thigh.

"...What is that?" It was Amanda.

"Nothing. What is it?"

"Theo's mum is home," she said. She wasn't leaving so I guessed she was waiting for me to stand up.

"I got to go," I murmured and turned the mirror over. I quickly put it in my pocket and got up.

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing." I went down the staircase and at the bottom of it was Theo holding Samantha and his mum with who I assumed to be Phineas.

"Three hours! What are you guys even doing?" Theo shouted at his mum.

She noticed Amanda and me and didn't respond to Theo, "Amanda! How did you get here, and who's this?" she asked looking at me.

"I'm Armin, her brother," I said. "Mrs Foster-"

"I don't use that name anymore. Just call me Ms Sommer," she insisted.

Theo narrowed his eyes slightly. He was not happy.

"...Ms Sommer, are you aware of the amount of time you're spending out of the house?"

"How long has it been...?" she mumbled.

 _Okay, that's a 'no'._ I thought.

"I already told you, mum! Three hours!" Theo yelled.

"Have they been fed?" she asked.

"Your son cannot lactate!" I shot.

She blinked and Theo raised his eyebrows as if saying _That's one way to put it..._

"Ms Sommer, Theo isn't mature enough to do this. He can do one to two hours by himself, _once a week_ at the absolute max. Even then, you should leave a list for their feeding times and sleep schedule. He can't do this _daily,"_ I told her.

"Plus, he really doesn't need any more stress than he already has. I don't know if it's been obvious to you, but he's losing sleep and the year was very hard for all of us," Amanda pointed out.

"And _you!_ Phineas," Theo started, "You helped make these children. You need to take responsibility."

"We really shouldn't have to tell you this. This should be common knowledge to you," I said.

She stayed silent for a moment.

I handed her William, "We'll let you guys discuss this on your own. This really isn't any of our business."

"That-that would be appreciated..." she stammered.

Amanda and I went back to Diagon Alley and walked home. Amanda seemed like she was thinking about Theo's home situation and she was pissed about it. I also wasn't happy about it, but I was mostly thinking about the mirror. I managed to hide it for a month and a half, but she knows about it now.

I was thinking about ways to explain it to her without outing myself. _I talk to Eren's sister sometimes?_ No, she plays Quidditch with Mikasa. She'd see right through me. _Sasha?_ She's a muggle-born, if I didn't know about the mirror, she probably wouldn't. _Connie?_ No, that's playing too close.

I sighed and opened the door to our house. Maybe I shouldn't hide it. After all, I had to come out to her eventually.

She closed the door and immediately asked, "What was that thing you had in the nursery? I heard you laughing before I opened the door."

I curled my lips and put my hand in the pocket with the mirror, "It's... It's basically wizard FaceTime," I said vaguely.

"What? What is it?"

I sucked it up and pulled out the mirror.

She took it from my hand and examined it, "Wait, this has been in the bathroom all summer! You mean to tell me this is a wizarding device and I didn't know?"

I nodded my head.

"How does it work?"

I explained to her using pretty much the exact same words Eren used for me. She rubbed off some dust on her face as I explained.

"Do you think Theo has one? Where did you get this?" she asked and lowered the mirror.

"It's probably not a good idea to bother him today if he does have one. I got it from Eren."

"When did he give it to you?"

I wanted to say my birthday, but that would have led to more questions that I didn't feel like trying to lie about.

"Before we boarded the train. Can I have it back now?"

"But-"

"Amanda," I said firmly and held out my hand. She groaned but gave it back to me.  
  
  
  
  
  


Summer came closer to an end and we got our loans for the supplies. Amanda made plans to meet with Theo in the pet store and Eren and I met up at the bookstore.

I got the second-hand books as usual, and Eren went to look at all of Newt Scamander's books. He was a famous magizoologist and wrote tons of books about magical creatures. I went over to the section with Quidditch books and looked around. The idea of becoming Quidditch captain both excited me and scared me. We also had two new players coming and I was certain Rico was going to give me the responsibility of training one or both of them at least a few times.

I found one book called _Quidditch Through the Ages._ It was a new one and the price was a little hefty. 14 sickles and 3 knuts. I opened the book and the table of contents pointed me to a section full of Quidditch tricks and strategies. I casually flipped through the pages and soon heard a loud thump next to me. I jumped to see Eren with three heavy books on magical creatures.

He panted, "Help."

I stared at the books with my jaw agape, "Eren, that's... That's too much. I never thought I'd say that about books, but you have a problem."

He laughed, "Yeah, I do." He looked at the book I was holding, "Quidditch, huh?"

"Yeah, my only concern is the price tag."

"I'm pretty sure they have that in the library. You could get it there."

"I guess you're right... But I'd rather not worry about due dates. Plus, I need to plan for training and know what to look for at tryouts," I reasoned.

"You're going to make judgments at tryouts?" he asked.

"Yeah, Rico is preparing me to take over when she leaves. She said I'm going to be her co-captain this year."

"Wow, congratulations. That's a pretty big deal."

"Thank you. I'm quite nervous about it," I admitted.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll do fine. Are you going to get it?"

I curled my lips, "I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet. I can't let the team down."

"Bite the what?" Eren questioned.

"Muggle thing," I explained vaguely and added the book to my pile. "You're not getting all of those, though."

"But-"

"Eren, I know for a fact that you're going to regret buying all three of those as soon as we step out. You're not going to be able to carry all of them."

He was silent for a moment, "No comment."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


We took a few weeks to ease back into school before holding tryouts. Reyna and her friends were one of the firsts to walk in. Vani didn't have a broom and their Gryffindor friend, Nathan, was there for support. Ian was clearly excited to be there. It's rare someone shows that much spirit in Quidditch. I was secretly hoping he was good.

Rico was in the broom closet getting the box with the balls and she told me to get started by introducing the team.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Armin Arlert, the Keeper and co-captain of this team. Our Seeker over here is Connie Springer. This is Hanji Zoe and Historia Reiss, two of our Chasers. Our captain is Rico Brzenska, she is also a Chaser and will be joining us shortly."

"When will we get started?" Ian asked.

"As soon as everything is ready. Rico is on her way. Hanji, go help her with the box," I ordered.

Rico and Hanji set the box down and Rico took over, "Now, I'd like to remind everyone that this isn't something you just tryout for unless you're 100% sure you want to do this. This is a very dangerous sport if you can't fly well and we'll be expecting you to show up for practice. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes," they replied.

"Okay! Who would like to go first?" Hanji asked.

Ian was about to jump up, but Reyna grabbed his shoulder. Observe first, try later. A wise choice.

We tested people in pairs. A lot of them didn't hit the Bludgers to where they were needed. They just aimed at Connie when I was about to block all of the goals.

A few others I was impressed with. They realised that it wasn't only the Seeker they needed to aim for. Still though, their aim needed some work.

Even fewer managed to prevent me from blocking the goals or knock the Quaffle out of anyone's hands.

Finally, Ian couldn't wait any longer and Reyna joined him on the field. I wished them good luck before I kicked off the ground.

The first time they hit, they both didn't do it hard enough and we easily dodged it. The second time, Reyna's eyes darted around before she shot into the air and sent a Bludger towards me. Had  I not been looking at her, she probably would have hit me.

I looked at Rico. She looked like she was thinking the same thing I was. Reyna just stole herself a spot.

I focused on Ian to see if he had the skill to stand out. He already had his ambition going for him, but that wasn't going to be enough.

I took my eyes off of him to find the Quaffle, Hanji had it and was flying towards another hoop. I was accelerating to catch up to her when Historia shouted, "Armin! Look out!"

I stopped just in time to avoid the Bludger. I looked in the direction it came from. Reyna again.

 _Good eye._ I complimented in my head. Hanji managed to score.

Rico caught the Quaffle and flew to a different hoop. She was about to throw it when a Bludger flew past her. We looked to see who sent it. It was Ian. He looked pleased with himself and turned to Reyna for a high five. She gave it to him.

A couple of minutes later, their time was up and we descend to the ground.

Rico pulled me aside, "So, what are your thoughts on them?"

"Reyna definitely has herself a spot," I replied.

"Agreed. What about Ian?"

I sighed, "It's very possible that someone can surpass him in skill. But so far I think he's better than who we've seen so far."

"We'll see, I guess," she said and called for the next players. 

Ian had luck on his side and managed to keep his spot. When we announced that Reyna and Ian made the cut, he jumped up and shouted, "YES!" with a smile from ear to ear.

He was met with a hard slap on the back from Vani. He raised his hand up for a high five with Reyna and she gladly took it.

"Are there spaces open on the Gryffindor team?" Ian inquired.

"Yeah, my friend on the team told me that they have a space for Beater and Seeker," I replied.

He turned to Nathan, "You should try out. You're the perfect shape for Seeker!"

"What? Are you crazy?" Nathan shouted. 

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

"I'm terrified of heights! I'd screw everyone over!"

"Pleeeaaase? For me?" Ian cupped his hands together in front of his mouth and looked at Nathan with puppy eyes.

Nathan curled his lips, "I'll think about it."

Ian smiled and he hugged Nathan. Judging by his facial expression, Nathan wasn't expecting it.

Everyone else was excused from the field and we had a brief meeting to explain practices and to clear up any misunderstandings.

"I see you both have brooms of your own," I commented. Ian had a Nimbus 2000, the same as mine. Reyna had a Firebolt, definitely her's.

"We practice every Thursday and Friday at 5:00. There are a few practice plans I'd like to discuss with Rico, but I need you to get a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_ from the library. That goes for everyone if you haven't read it yet."

"I've already read that," Ian spoke up. "And the other 27 volumes." He had absolutely no shame in saying it. He smiled and I could see the obsession in his eyes.

 _And I thought Eren's obsession with magical creatures was extensive._ I said in my head.

"27?" Reyna asked in disbelief.

He nodded his head, still smiling.

"I thought _I_ was the crazy book nerd..."

"This is _Quidditch_ we're talking about here, hon," he sassed. That sounded like something Eren would to me.

"There are some tactics I'd like to try in there. Other than that, there aren't any concerns to us."

"Awesome! You ready, Reyna?" Ian asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" she replied.

 


	32. Ceckmate

~Theo POV~

Levi became the new male prefect of Slytherin. He informed me that the new Head Boy was Liddle. I didn't know any of the other prefects well enough to decide if he was the best person for that position, but I didn't see a reason why he wouldn't deserve it. Ever since the duel in the corridor, Liddle had been talking to Amanda and me less and less. I didn't have anything against him, but Amanda said that she felt awkward around him now. He went back to calling us by our last names, but we didn't run from each other in the halls. I guess we just sort of faded.

We started Quidditch training again soon after we got back. I walked into the dressing room and the first person I saw was Braun. He was already fully dressed and just being in his presence was enough to tick me off. Just when I thought I wouldn't have to deal with stressful things that were completely out of my control, I see that guy. My mum finally took up her job as a mother after Armin humiliated her. I had two weeks that weren't filled with crying siblings that I didn't want. I was hoping I'd get some relief in Quidditch, but I forgot that Braun was a thing.

I rolled my eyes and went to get my Quidditch robes. At least _he_ didn't become Prefect.

"How was your summer?" Braun asked.

"Shut-up," I muttered. He made more attempts to talk to me, but I completely ignored him. I was still stressed out from playing babysitter for two months.

Once on the field, we started discussing strategies for the games.

"We've finished in second place twice," Levi stated. "We need to change something."

"Maybe if Braun wasn't looking at Amanda all the time, we'd have a chance," I mumbled.

"I don't always do that," he defended.

"Foster, stop acting like everyone's feeling up your girl," Levi requested and rolled his eyes.

"We're not dating!"

"Yet," Mikasa chuckled.

"I think I have something that might help," Amanda broke in.

"You do?" Annie asked.

She picked up a book from the ground next to her feet, "I found a copy of this in my brother's trunk over the summer. He's co-captain this year and I think we can use this to our advantage."

"Arlert, that's..." Levi sputtered. "That's brilliant!"

She opened the book and pointed at the title of a particular tactic, the _Wronski Feint,_ "I think this might make a huge difference in our chances."

"Now _that_ is truly cunning!" Braun smirked.

"Thank you!" Amanda smiled. I almost questioned her sanity. Since when was she so okay around him?

"The new Gryffindor Seeker is Hayes, a second year. I think he'd fall for that," Mikasa informed.

"What else is in there?" Braun asked.

"There's the Bludger Backbeat that you can try, but I think we need to try some of these steals with Theo," she replied.

"What about me?" I asked.

"You can't really steal from anyone just by flying past them because you're left handed. This might give you a chance though." She pointed at another tactic, _Check._ It involves seizing the Quaffle while the opposing team is trying to pass it.

"Let's give it a try," Levi suggested.  
  
  


Practice went on for an hour and I managed to pull off Check a couple of times.

We descended to the ground and Levi pulled us aside, "Great work, everybody. I don't think we should use any more than these two in the first game. I have a feeling Ravenclaw will catch on."

"Yeah, knowing my brother, it's only a matter of time until he finds out," Amanda agreed.

"I want to at least practice these more advanced tactics though. Just remember, we're limiting to only Check and the Wronski Feint against Gryffindor. Showers, everyone," Levi dismissed and we separated to the bathrooms.

I quickly washed myself off and once I was half dressed, I turned to Braun, "Since when were you friendly with Amanda?"

He raised his eyebrows and pulled his shirt down "Hm? After you were taken away during the Ravenclaw game, she said it was easier to be in my presence when I wasn't trying to hook up with her. It seems like she's finally comfortable around me," he beamed.

I couldn't help but get bad vibes from him. The way he said it wasn't comforting to me. I kept a stone cold face until he left. Once he shut the door, I turned to Levi, "Are you _sure_ there's no reason to kick him off the team?"

He looked surprised, "Amanda doesn't seem uncomfortable anymore. Why should I remove him?"

I groaned and reached for my robes.

"Merlin, Foster. You're the most jealous person I've ever seen in my life," Levi chuckled.

I completely stopped. _You shouldn't have said that, Levi._ "You're one to talk, _Ackerman_ ," I hissed.

His entire body froze and he widened his eyes. He started to turn red, "What are you talking about?"

" _'I just don't want any crazy make-out sessions in the showers'_ We all saw right through you! Your reprimands were more than enough to give it away."

Levi stayed silent and I pulled my shirt down, "The murderous face you had when they kissed didn't help either," I pointed out. "It's Mikasa, isn't it. You only call her by her first name."

"Look, I'm not the one getting angry whenever she talks to other boys."

"I'm not doing that to every boy. It's just _Braun._ He's made suggestive comments and I didn't like that. Before I even started liking Amanda I had a problem with him."

In the corner of my eye, Bertholdt was awkwardly drying his hair off.

"So it _is_ Mikasa then. You have a crush on my best friend's brother's best friend's sister?"

"Don't you mean your crush's brother's best friend's sister?" Levi shot back.

Then, simultaneously, the self-worth we had for ourselves disappeared into nothing once we realised what we just said.

"...You both know that made absolutely no sense, right?" Bertholdt broke in.

"It sounded better in my head," Levi defended.

I pulled my robe over my shoulders, "Remember what you said when we first joined the team? You said you'd remove him if he made her uncomfortable."

"She hasn't reported anything, nor have I seen anything happen."

"I know. Just wanted to make sure you remember," I informed him and left.  
  


A few weeks later, Professor Jaeger told us we had a special lesson coming up in DA. We were told not to bring anything but our wands and textbooks. We arrived at the class and as soon as I stepped in, I knew what we were doing. Boggarts.

The closet was in the front of the room and shaking. I already knew what mine was going to turn into and I really wasn't looking forward to it.

We took our seats and waited for class to begin. Forster was on the other side of the room with his girlfriend and he sneered at me. His hair nest grew back over the summer, though it was a little smaller. He also seemed to still think that I was jealous that he was taken.

The bell rang and Professor Jaeger began the lesson. He explained to us what boggarts are and what _Riddikulus_ does, "Turn to 157 in your textbooks and read the first five paragraphs. Except for you, Arlert. You still have the outdated version. The boggart chapter in your book is at 133," he ordered.

I don't know what his goal was, but Amanda didn't seem to like being called out like that. We read the text and got up to let Jaeger move the desks.

"Alston! You first," the professor called.

Ruth drew her wand and walked up to the front. Jaeger opened the closet and out crawled a swarm of rats. They all came running out and the entire class squealed and ran towards the back of the room. Ruth walked backwards away from them.

"Alston, the spell," Jaeger reminded.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ All of the rats popped and turned into a bunch of kittens.

"Arlert! You next!"

Amanda blinked and drew her wand. As she approached, the kittens turned into a swarm of bees and a hive. That caught me by surprise. Out of all the things I thought she'd be afraid of, bees didn't cross my mind. Amanda was quick to act and immediately raised her wand.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ Everything turned into a beautiful flock of butterflies and they scattered apart.

"Asírós!"

Amanda came back next to me and Forster's girlfriend went up to the front.

"You're afraid of bees?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm allergic to them."

Back up at the front, the butterflies changed into a hideous looking ghoul. Asírós seemed disgusted more than anything.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ The ghoul threw its head back as if it was punched in the face and when it straightened up, its face was caked with makeup, like some kind of clown. Forster gave her a round of applause as she walked back and Songal and Rao threw their heads back laughing.

"Braun!"

Gabi approached the boggart and it shifted into a Bludger. Even after nearly five months, she was still shaken about the incident with me. I told her I didn't blame her, but I guess she could tell that I was going through a hard time when it happened.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ The Bludger changed into an egg and a little creature with a toothed beak hatched from it and it coughed a little fireball. A Cockatrice. A lot of the class found it cute.

"Bythe!"

Jade walked up and the boggart turned into a Crup that immediately started aggressively barking. Her wand hand was shaking and her knees were slightly bent and shaking. Jade was always so upbeat and cheerful. It was odd to see her so scared.

She gulped and flicked her wand, _"Riddikulus!"_ The Crup turned into a cat and curled on its back. The next person was called and Jade sat down next to Amanda and Ruth.

"Your worst fear is a dog?" Amanda asked.

"That wasn't just a dog. That was a Crup. It acts vicious towards muggles, but behaves like any other dog to wizards," I explained.

"It really doesn't matter if it's a Crup or a dog. I'm terrified of them both," Jade chimed in.

"Why?" Ruth asked.

"My grandma was attacked by one when I was younger. My mum is a muggle-born," she replied.

"How can you tell it was a Crup and not a dog?" Amanda queried.

"Did you notice it had forked tail?" Ruth questioned.

"No. Then again, I'm blind so..." Amanda muttered and adjusted her glasses.

More students were called up alphabetically and eventually, we reached _F._ Forster went before me. He walked up and his boggart turned into himself, only he no longer had his hair nest on his forehead.

He gasped, "No!"

I seriously thought he was insane to think he looked good with that hairstyle.

"That boggart looks better than the real one," I whispered to Amanda. Jade and Ruth heard and they all chuckled. Thankfully, the professor didn't.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ It turned into his regular hairstyle and Forster walked back next to Asírós.

"Foster!"

I took a deep breath and drew my wand. I walked slowly to give myself more time to calm my nerves. I eventually reached the front the stupid kid in front of me turned into a whole scene around me. I was at the edge of a cliff and my foot was just a few inches away from the drop-off. Some pebbles even fell down off the edge. The cliff was so high, I couldn't even see the bottom. It was mostly blocked by fog, though.

Looking straight ahead, the sky was cloudy and grey. I wanted to focus more on the sky, but I couldn't help but look down. My heartbeat was rising and I could feel my breathing getting more erratic. I could hear some murmuring behind me. One voice I was able to identify as Amanda's. I was expecting everyone to be confused. How could a Quidditch player be afraid of heights?

I tried to back up, but the scene moved with me. No matter how far I moved, my foot was always 3 inches away from the edge. I apparently moved too far back and Forster was right behind me.

"Don't tread on me!" he chided and pushed me forward.

I gasped and nearly tripped, but I managed to keep my balance. I pointed my wand to the scene and took a deep breath.

 _"Riddikulus!"_ The scene changed to a view from the Slytherin common room window. The sun was shining through the lake and into the room and all the water-dwelling creatures swam around in front of the window. The best part of all, I was standing on a flat surface without a 500 foot drop off.

I took a heavy sigh and released all the tension in my body. I put my wand away and walked back to my friends. Amanda was looking at me in utter confusion.

"Theo...?"

Jade and Ruth were also staring at me. I knew what they were thinking.

"Yes, I'm afraid of heights," I said and took my seat. It was embarrassing. I'm a Quidditch player. I shouldn't be afraid of heights of all things.

Amanda turned to me, "Theo, it's a very common fear. I'm just a little... Surprised, I guess."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you try out for the Quidditch team if you were afraid of heights?" Jade asked.

"I wasn't afraid of them when I tried out," I explained. "I only started fearing them when I got knocked off my broom last year."

She nodded her head and we faced the front to watch the other students face their boggarts. 

~Amanda POV~

A few weeks later, Quidditch season started and we were marching on the field to play Gryffindor. Again, instead of Ackerman doing the announcements a student took over. This time though, Ruth wanted to get some photos of the game and a new Quidditch player, Ian Oakley, was doing the announcements.

**"November is finally among us! It's time to play Quidditch again! On the Gryffindor side, we have a new Seeker, Nathan Hayes, and a new Chaser, Maya In** **o** **ue. Kirstein has stepped down from the Seeker role that he played last year to return to his previous role as Beater."**

I looked at the team to find the new members. Hayes was an African kid right behind the captain and Inoue I recognised from all of my classes with Gryffindor. She was also a third year. Inoue was waving at the crowd, but not in an _I'm famous_ way. She was waving at one specific part of the crowd and a few girls were shouting her name.

**"On the Slytherin side, nothing has changed since Theon Foster and his ice princess Amanda Arlert joined the team last year."**

A good amount of people seemed to like the whole _Theon's Ice Princess_ thing judging by their cheers. Theo and I shook it off and lined up behind Levi.

The captains shook hands and we kicked off the ground. The Quaffle was released and the game started. I dove in for the Quaffle, but the other team got it before I did.

**"And Maya seizes the Quaffle. Not bad for her first year playing."**

She was _fast._ Barely even 10 seconds later, she scored.

**"Gryffindor takes an early lead! Amazing execution!"**

Smith caught the Quaffle and flew up. I made eye contact with Theo and jerked my head. Now was his chance.

Theo closed in around Smith and waited for a time to strike. Smith tossed the Quaffle and Theo flew by to grab it before any of the other Chasers could. Some of the crowd applauded his execution.

 **"Now,** ** _that,_** **ladies and gentlemen, is what we call Check. It** **isn't** **any ordinary steal. It requires precise timing to pull it off successfully,"** Oakley explained to the crowd.

I watched as he did everything and smirked. _Checkmate._

Theo went for the goal and both of their Beaters sent a Bludger to him. He quickly locked his legs together and shifted so he was hanging upside down on his broom and let the Bludgers pass. He repositioned himself and threw the Quaffle.

 **"And he scores! The teams are now tied. But that technique he used to dodge the Bludgers, y'all have been calling that a 'barrel roll'? No, that's called the** ** _Sloth Grip Roll_** **if you're dodging a Bludger,"** Oakley explained.

20 minutes of possession going back and forth ensued.

**"40 minutes left. The score is 50-50. It could be anyone's game!"**

Mikasa made a sharp dive and Hayes followed.

**"Looks like the Seekers are on the snitch! That golden ball will determine the winners of this game!"**

Inoue had the Quaffle and got excited. While she was looking for Hayes, I flew by her and grabbed the Quaffle. Obviously, everyone else was looking at the Seekers, so my steal didn't get an announcement.

They got closer and closer to the ground and Mikasa made a sudden stop once they were about 15 feet above the ground. Hayes stopped himself before he hit the ground, but the momentum still knocked him off his broom. Luckily for him, he only fell about five feet.

The audience and Oakley groaned when he hit the ground, **"The Wronski Feint! That was truly cunning on a Slytherin level."**

Mikasa flew back up in the air and scanned the field. She didn't know where the snitch was. It was still on.

I closed in on the goal post and managed to get there before the Keeper.

**"Slytherin takes the lead. Nathan seems to be okay. He's getting back onto his broom."**

Hayes kicked off the ground and got back into the game. Mikasa flew around the field at a moderate speed before making an abrupt turn directly towards the centre of the field. Hayes checked if the snitch was close to her before moving.

**"I can see it! The Golden Snitch has been spotted for real this time! Nathan needs to hurry up!"**

He caught up to Mikasa and they chased after the snitch. Eventually, the clock froze and the scoreboard changed from 60-50 to 210-50. Mikasa flew up into the air and showed the snitch in her hand to the crowd and they cheered. Annie flew up next to her and gave her a kiss.

 **"Slytherin once again claims victory over Gryffindor! It was a close call, but in the end, Jaeger's experience proved to be greater than Nathan's."** Oakley announced. I was glad he was able to sound happy for us even though his friend was on the Gryffindor team.

We descended to the ground and as Theo and I were walking towards the changing rooms, a voice called from behind us.

"Hey!"

We turned around and saw Inoue running to us. We were fairly familiar with her so we decided to talk to her.

"Hi, you're Foster, correct?" she asked holding her hand out to Theo.

"Yes," he replied and shook it.

"And you're Arlert?"

"Yeah."

"Maya," she said and held out her hand to me. "I've heard a lot about you," she said as I shook her hand.

My smile immediately faded, "Have you...?" I asked, my voice dropping at the end. That meant rumours. _What could they have possibly stirred up_ ** _this_** _time?_ I thought.

"Whatever you've heard, it probably isn't true," Theo clarified.

"Yeah, I doubted they would be. Anyways, I just wanted to say good game."

I smiled, "Thanks. You too."

We parted ways and I took a quick shower. Once I was done, I stepped outside and Theo was waiting for me. We made our way back to the dungeons and talked.

"Do you think your brother has caught on yet?" he asked.

"He might have. I think those other tactics will make up for it though," I replied and spoke the common room password.

"By the way, I never asked if you got your Hogsmeade slip signed."

"Yeah, I did," I answered and looked at him.

He looked down and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Do you..." he mumbled. "Do you want to go together?"

I stayed silent for a moment and continued to stare at him. Did he mean it in... _That_ way?

I shook myself back to reality and smiled, "Sure! I'd love to."

He smiled back and stopped as I approached the girl's dorm, "I'll uh... See you at dinner," he said.

"Uh, y-yeah," I replied awkwardly. He smiled and went over to the boy's dorm.

I walked into my dorm. Ruth was on her bed sorting out pictures. Jade, on the other hand, she had her waist and legs on her bed and the rest of her was hanging upside down off the bed and she was looking at a photo.

"Congratulations!" Ruth said as I stepped in.

"Thank you!" I replied and looked over to Jade.

She looked at me, then back at the photo, "So... The Gryffindor Chaser is kinda hot," she said.

I knit my eyebrows together, "Which one?"

She showed me the photo. It was an upside down picture of Maya scoring a goal. Sure, she was pretty, but I wouldn't say _hot._ I reached out to grab the photo to get a closer look at it, but Jade slapped my hand away. I was surprised.

"Jade, are you feeling okay?" I asked.

She stretched her arms out and groaned, "No...!"

"What's wrong?" Ruth asked.

"Girl problems! Hot girl problems!"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm into her!" she shouted.

"...You are?" I questioned.

She looked at me, "I am the most lesbian bitch you will ever meet in your life."

I raised my eyebrows, "I believe you."

"Oh! If that's the case, I got a few more photos of her," Ruth spoke up.

Jade reached out her hand but didn't move from her bed, "Gimme."

I walked over to my bed and put my pillow on my lap, "Well, you can always ask her out to Hogsmeade. You can say Ruth will be there if it gets awkward," I suggested.

"You're not going to come with us?" Jade questioned.

I curled my lips and smiled, knowing they were about to lose their minds, "Theo asked me out."

Jade rolled over and brought her legs to the floor, "WHEN?" she demanded and kneeled in front of me.

"Just before I stepped in."

"Where are you going?" Ruth asked.

"We haven't made any plans yet. He just said 'see you at dinner' after he asked," I chuckled.

The other two laughed, "Girl, he's totally into you!" Ruth exclaimed.

"Okay, I don't know about that."

"What do you mean 'you don't know'? Come ON! He's mad for you!" Jade chimed in.

"Really?"

"Seriously, Amanda. I don't understand how you're missing this," Ruth sighed.

"If she doesn't know now, she'll know by the end of their date. 10 sickles they start dating by the end of the year," Jade said and looked at Ruth.

"10 sickles they start dating after Hogsmeade."

"How about 10 sickles neither of those happen," I suggested.

Ruth laughed, "Keep telling yourself that."

 


	33. Feelings

~Eren POV~

Things went as they normally did after the Quidditch game. Snow started to fall and everyone bundled up for the holiday season. December rolled around and I found myself walking into my dad's classroom for another lesson. Mikasa arrived with Annie as usual, but they seemed a little distant. They normally walked everywhere holding hands and looking at each other, but now they weren't doing either of those things.

They took their seats and I looked at them for a bit. They're probably just tired. I thought and looked to the front.

Over the next few days, I found myself checking on them whenever I walked into my classes with Slytherin. They were getting more and more distant from each other and I started worrying a little bit. They were such a power couple. Dad even approved of their relationship and supported them.

A couple weeks before Hogsmeade weekend, I was walking out of charms to go to potions when Mikasa ran up to me.

"Hey, Eren!" she called. Her scarf was haphazardly around her neck and her books and supplies were slipping from her hands.

I turned around and gave her a confused look, "Where's Annie?"

"In the classroom. I just wanted to walk with you."

That didn't sound right. There's no way she would want to walk with me over Annie for no reason. Plus, it was obvious that she wanted to get out of the classroom pretty fast. She must've scooped up all her supplies and ran.

"Are you two okay?" I asked.

She sighed, "No..."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, just... It doesn't feel right anymore... I don't know why..."

I bit my lip, "Well, you guys can work things out. I believe in you two."

She shrugged, "I appreciate it, but I don't know..."

~Armin POV~

The Quidditch game soon came up and we were getting ready to play Hufflepuff. I was oddly nervous. I don't know why. I had always looked forward to games before. Why was I suddenly anxious?

We were in the Great Hall for breakfast and going over the plan again.

"Armin, you've already explained to us five times! We're ready," Reyna assured.

"Are you sure...? I don't want you guys getting hurt," I told them tapping my finger on the map of the field.

"We'll be fine! We trained for this."

"You guys do realize that your role is just as important as Connie's, right? We suffered last year because of half dedication from the Beaters."

"Armin," Ian spoke and stood up, "what makes you think that I won't put in everything I have into this game? I am Ian Oakley. It has been my dream to play Quidditch since I was three! I'm going to blow your mind out there, you hear me?"

I sighed, "Okay, just... Do your best."

I folded up the map and finished my breakfast. I ate pretty quickly because I was nervous. There was about 15 minutes left of breakfast when Eren approached us.

"Umm... Are you guys discussing anything?"

"No, what brings you here?" Rico asked.

"Can I borrow Armin?"

They all looked to me. I looked at them, then to Eren, then back to them.

"Uh- Sure," I replied and stood up.

Eren led me outside of the Great Hall and started to walk down the corridor. I stopped at the door in confusion, but he beckoned me to follow him.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" I asked.

"No, just wanted to chat with you before the game."

"Oh, okay."

We walked slowly down the corridor for a little while before he broke the silence.

"Are you looking forward to the game?"

"Ehh... I'm kinda nervous..." I confessed and rubbed my arm.

He turned to me, "Really? Why?"

"I don't know... Maybe because I'm co-captain now and I feel responsible for the team's performance. Especially the newcomers."

"Oh... That must be tough..." he said apologetically.

"Yeah, I'm especially worried about Ian. There's no doubt he's good but I really put him in the team because of his dream. He's definitely been practicing hard and he's improved drastically, but what if he doesn't perform well today? What's that going to say about me?" I vented.

"Hey," he put his hand on my shoulder, "it'll be okay. I know you've put in a lot of effort to train them. You'll do great, I'm sure of it."

I sighed and smiled, "Thanks."

He pat my shoulder before putting his hand back in his pocket. I averted my eyes and looked down. I wasn't 100% sure about my feelings for him at that point. I thought about him all the time. I didn't care about the anxiety using the mirror gave me, I admired his features constantly, and I crumble whenever he touches me. All the signs were pointing to "You idiot. You like him, a lot." But I just couldn't say it to myself.

Is this what Amanda feels like? She knows she acts like she likes Theo but just won't say she does. I wondered. It made sense.

"Armin?"

I jumped, "Y-yes?"

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade together again?" he asked.

My face burned up. I was sure I was red as a tomato.

"Uh- Yeah, sure," I answered and covered my face with my hair. I hoped he didn't see I was blushing.

We walked back to the Great Hall and finished up breakfast. We went over the plan one last time before heading out.

Once we all had our brooms, Rico made me talk to the whole team before stepping onto the field.

"I'm very proud of how far everyone has come," I started. I didn't have a plan for it so I just said whatever came to mind. "If we don't win today, I won't be disappointed in any of you. We'll train harder and win next time. I will, however, be disappointed if you don't try your best. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Armin," they replied.

"Are you all ready?"

"I was born ready!" Ian jumped up and shouted.

We lined up and waited for the right time to walk out.

"...What's that on your broom?" Ian asked.

I turned around, "What?"

He pointed to the stick of my broom. There was a rugged carving of E.J. towards the front.

"Oh, this is a second hand broom. That must've been the initials of the previous owner."

I never noticed them before then. I lightly brushed my hand over the carving. It made me feel a little better.

We stepped onto the field and the crowds cheered for us. In stead of Professor Ackerman doing the announcements, the captain of the Slytherin team, Levi, was.

"We're back, everyone. Today we have Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff playing each other. Last year, Hufflepuff won first place and Ravenclaw got last."

He didn't sound very energetic.

"Ravenclaw has made changes to their team. They have two new Beaters, Ian Oakley and Reyna Songal, and Armin Arlert is now co-captain."

I looked over to the staff booth. I only told my friends and Amanda that I was co-captain. Plus, what difference did it make to the game?

"Hufflepuff hasn't made any changes since their Seeker stepped up three years ago. Last year they..." he paused. "They don't need to know that."

"Levi, it's important information. I wrote a script for you for a reason," Professor Ackerman said, his voice being picked up by the microphone.

"This is badmouthing my Seeker! Mikasa is very skilled at what she does," he fired back.

"Just read it!"

Levi grunted, "Last year they won thanks to Maxwell Leong hitting the Slytherin Seeker in the face with the Quaffle. This year, things will be different. There's no might about that."

Now he seemed fired up at the mere thought that his team was bad. That irritation could ever so slightly be heard in his voice for the rest of the game.

The captains shook hands and we kicked off the ground.

"Good luck!" I shouted to our Beaters before flying over to the hoops.

The Quaffle was released and Hufflepuff took possession.

"Leong takes the Quaffle."

He approached and I waited for him to throw it. He threw it at the hoop to my right and I dove to get it.

"Ravenclaw blocks the throw."

I threw the Quaffle to Historia. We had techniques ready, but only if we needed them.

"And Ravenclaw takes the lead."

Our new Beaters got to work and threw off the other team. Ian sent a Bludger to Ral and got her to drop the Quaffle. Leong came in from below her and caught the Quaffle. This time, he went for the left hoop.

"Hufflepuff scores."

Rico caught the Quaffle and closed in on the hoops.

"Save. Hufflepuff back in possession."

The other team didn't seem to have an attack pattern. There was no way to predict what they were going to do.

"35 minutes left. Score is 40-30 in favour of the badgers." Hufflepuff still had the Quaffle. Rico flew to the centre of the field and put her hand in the air. That was the signal to start using the tactics.

We all saw and got ready to be aggressive. Ral approached with the Quaffle and I positioned myself to use my first tactic, the Starfish and Stick.

I held onto my broom with only one arm and one leg. All three of the hoops were blocked for the most part. The Quaffle hit my hand and Hanji caught it from below. She flew up and extended her arm to the side. It was the signal for the Chasers to assume the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. They form an arrowhead and it forces the opponents to move.

"Ravenclaw brings the scores back up to a tie."

Reyna had some tricks up her sleeve. She'd been working harder on her accuracy and it was paying off. She sent a Bludger to Leong and got him to drop it. Rico caught it and closed in on the hoops.

"Eagles now in the lead."

Sasha accelerated on her broom and Connie followed.

"The Great Chase has begun," Levi said flatly.

Connie and Sasha were flying next to each other at high speeds. Ian and Reyna looked for Bludgers to throw Sasha off, but they didn't have any luck. The Hufflepuff Beaters got them and distracted Connie.

Connie pulled back on his broom to avoid getting hit. Sasha was far ahead of him once the Bludgers passed. He had a slim chance of getting there in time.

I caught the Quaffle and passed it to Rico. Worrying about the snitch wasn't my job. I needed to pay attention to the Chasers.

A few moments later, the clock froze and the score displayed 50-180. Sasha caught the snitch.

"Hufflepuff claims the snitch. Players please go to the shower," Levi spoke firmly and left the stand.

Connie congratulated Sasha before joining us in the meeting room. Rico made me go to the front and talk to the whole team again.

"I know that we're all a little disappointed..." A little was an understatement. Ian was sitting slumped over and his head hung low. Reyna had her hand on his shoulder. "But I'm not disappointed in you. You all gave it your best. We're going to be training a lot harder from now on. I wouldn't be surprised if we had to abuse the hell out of the tactics against Slytherin."

"Anything we should keep in mind?" Reyna asked.

"My sister is on the Slytherin team. She knows I'm training you guys and she might have caught onto what I've been doing."

"How do you know?"

"Levi announced that I'm co-captain. Amanda must have spillt the tea. They used a few tactics in the game with Gryffindor so they might have gotten their hands on the book."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Rico questioned.

"We'll need a plan. They aren't called cunning for no reason," I stressed.

"Okay, we can meet in the library to put something together. Dismissed," Rico concluded and we went to the changing rooms.

Ian was still depressed. All that energy that he had before the game was gone and he wasn't even smiling.

I tapped his shoulder, "You okay?"

He sighed, "I thought I was ready..."

"Hey, it's not your fault. There are tons of factors that go into a game. Of all people, you should know that," I said. I couldn't tell if it was helping much. "Perhaps I didn't train you hard enough."

He averted his eyes, "We'll see what happens with Slytherin."

 

~Amanda POV~

Hogsmeade weekend was slowly approaching. Ruth and I made a deal with Jade to get her to ask out Maya. The plan was to have the two of us there too. Ruth and I were both going to give Jade a sickle if she asked.

I got the time the Gryffindor team trains from Armin and the three of us stopped by a couple weeks before Hogsmeade.

As we walked onto the field, the captain came down to greet us. The rest of the team kept training.

"Can I help you?"

Ruth and I let Jade do the talking, "Can you tell Maya to come down here? I'd like to talk to her."

"Uhh... Sure..."

He flew away and Maya soon came down to us. Jade looked and us and I gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey! What brings you three here?" Maya asked as she came off her broom.

Jade took a deep breath, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with us."

I looked back at Maya and waited for her answer.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, but she smiled, "Sure! Where do you want to meet up?"

Jade sighed slightly and her face lit up with a smile, "Uh, anywhere is fine. I hear the butterbeer is really good though."

"Yeah, Three Broomsticks sounds good. So the four of us will meet there?"

"Oh, I'm going with someone else. But Ruth can go too if you want," I explained.

"Oh, really? Who are you going with?"

"Theo. We'll be at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop."

"Oh! Right on! Ice Princess finally getting her prince?" Maya asked.

Ruth and Jade bursted out laughing and my cheeks warmed up. Maya looked at the other two confused.

"We're going as friends. The 'Ice Princess' is just to keep the crowd interested."

"Well, you must really want to keep them interested if you're going as far as to role play the quote, unquote, 'Ice Princess' thing outside of Quidditch games," Maya teased.

Ruth gasped and bent over laughing, "Oh my god, I like you already!"

Jade and Maya laughed.

"Hey! This was supposed to be embarrassing for Jade, not me."

"Well, it isn't anymore," Jade replied.

"Wanna bet?" I challenged.

Her smile faded, "Okay! We're done here! 3 p.m. works for me. Your captain wants you. I'll see you later," Jade said and grabbed Ruth and me by the sleeve.

Maya laughed, "I'll see you later."

Once we were out of the snow, Jade stopped walking and cleared her throat. We turned to face her and she held out her hands to Ruth and me. We each gave her a sickle and we walked back to the common room. 

 

~Armin POV~

Hogsmeade finally came around and I bundled up to spend the afternoon in the snow. I expected to meet Eren at the gate, but he was already at the bottom of the tower waiting for me.

"Armin," he said and turned to me. He seemed anxious about something.

"Hey," I greeted.

"I'm- I'm sorry, there's been a slight change of plans..." he suddenly said.

"What?"

He sighed, "Annie and Mikasa broke up."

"Oh...."

"Mikasa is already at The Three Broomsticks. You don't mind her joining us, right?"

"No, it's fine. Is... Is she okay?" I asked.

"She didn't get into the details, but they both seem to be taking it well. Just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Okay, I don't mind."

"Thank you."

We walked over to Hogsmeade and made our way to The Three Broomsticks. Like on Valentine's Day, he held his hand out to me once we were past the gates. This time, he didn't say anything, and he didn't have to. I took his hand with a smile and he smiled back. I wasn't sure if Valentine's Day was just a one time thing, but I was glad to see that it wasn't.

When I took his hand, he intertwined our fingers together. I felt an unusual warmth in my chest and in my cheeks, despite being in the snow. It felt nice. If only I had more excuses to hold his hand.

We found Mikasa at a table and she had already ordered butterbeer for both of us.

"What took you so long?" she asked and took a sip from her mug.

"Gate was crowded," Eren stated briefly.

We sat down and I started a conversation.

"I... heard about your break up."

She nodded her head and took another sip, "Yeah, it's all cool though."

"Really?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it was a mutual break up. It just didn't feel right. I still love her, but as a friend. She feels the same," she explained.

"Are your parents picky about dating?"

"Well... Yes and no," Eren started.

"Yes, Father is a little picky, but chances are we won't care. Once we're 17 it won't matter because then we'll be adults," Mikasa replied.

"Wait, 17?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're a legal adult at 17," Eren explained.

"Really?"

They nodded their heads.

"In the muggle world, it's 18," I told them and took a sip from my cup.

Eren put his mug down, "It is?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Weird."

"So, what is your father picky about?" I asked and took a sip from my mug. It was at that point where part of me started to question why I cared so much. The rest already knew why and was starting to accept the facts. I fancied Eren.

"Class, he surprisingly doesn't care much about blood status," Eren replied.

"So he doesn't care about gender either?" I tried to hide the hopefulness in my voice, but I don't think I was very successful.

"No, why does gender matter? Is it that big of a thing in the muggle world?" Eren asked.

"Yes it is, Eren," Mikasa broke in. "Let me put it this way. Sexuality in the wizarding world is like race in the muggle world. Most people don't care and if they do, they're the biggest asshole you'll ever meet," she explained.

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, it had nothing to do with Annie being a girl. I came out a while ago."

"I still haven't come out..." Eren murmured.

I choked on my butterbeer.

"You haven't?" Mikasa asked.

I turned to him, "What?"

He looked at me, "Oh, I never told you?"

I shook my head.

"I'm gay. I could've sworn I told you..."

"You didn't," I said. "I am too."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I started questioning in March."

"I'm bisexual," Mikasa said. "Hooray for coming out moments!"

All three of us hunched over and laughed. 

 

~Amanda POV~

"Should I keep the scarf?" Jade, Ruth, and I were getting ready for Hogsmeade and Jade was freaking out.

"Jade, it's winter. You think she's going to judge you for wearing a scarf?"

"Are you saying you're not nervous?" she asked.

"It's Theo. We're just going to have some tea and talk about Quidditch or something."

"Yeah, definitely..." Ruth teased.

"Shut-up."

Jade and Ruth took a little longer to get ready. I left without them and made my way to the common room. Theo was by the door waiting for me.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," I replied.

"You ready?"

"Yup."

We left the dungeons and walked over to Hogsmeade. We showed our permission slips and walked past the gates. The town was really crowded and there was no way we could walk through it easily.

Theo grabbed onto my sleeve and I pushed through the crowd. This was something we did in the hallways. I usually was in the front because I'm taller.

"Is the tea any good?" I asked Theo as we pushed through the crowd.

"I don't know. I've never had it."

"Do you know what it looks like?"

"Pink," he stated briefly.

"That's it?"

"You'll see what I mean."

We continued to walk down the pavement and eventually, we found a building decorated with frills and bows. Looking inside, everything was pink. Just... so much pink.

I double checked the sign and sure enough, it was the place we were looking for.

We walked in and I was able to see in full how pink it was. Tables were packed tightly into the room, which wasn't a good thing. Everyone else was clearly on a romantic date. Lots of people were holding hands over the table and nobody seemed to care that they had no privacy and just snogged.

A witch approached us and we directed our attention to her, "Welcome! Table for two?"

"Uh, yeah."

She started walking through the cramped spaces between the tables and we followed. Theo was still holding onto my sleeve. She sat us down at a table towards the corner.

"What can I get for you, dears?"

"Peppermint."

"Matcha," Theo replied.

"Would you like some biscuits with that?"

"Sure."

She left and it was just Theo and me. I didn't know what to talk about and neither did he. The witch eventually came back with some biscuits, but we still had to wait on the tea.

"...So..." Theo started.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we're still under your brother's radar?"

"Well, I never told him we were going out, so..."

He tilted his head, "Huh?"

"He's probably at the Three Broomsticks with his friends. I don't think he's worrying about me."

"I meant in terms of Quidditch."

"Oh! That, of course," I spluttered. "I have a feeling he knows. They probably already have a plan."

"Any ideas of what we should do?"

"We'll have to use every tactic in the book. We have to be unpredictable."

The witch came back with our tea and placed the teacups in front of us, "Here you are. Enjoy! Happy Christmas," she said.

"Happy Christmas," we replied.

I took a sip of my tea. The peppermint flavour was much stronger than I expected, but it was a pleasant surprise. It was definitely much higher quality than I normally get.

"Can you pass me the sugar?" Theo asked.

I nodded and pushed the container to him. As he was reaching forward to pull it towards himself, he shifted and looked past me. I turned around and saw Forster and Asírós at a table. They were holding hands and looking back at us. Forster gave us a smug side-eye and grabbed Asírós's face to make her face him. He leaned in to kiss her as if trying to brag about his relationship. She wanted none of it. She placed her finger on his lips and he opened his eyes looking like an absolute fool.

I turned back around and Theo picked up his spoon. He added a single spoonful of sugar and stirred it up.

"So... Has your home situation gotten better?" I asked and reached over to get a biscuit. I couldn't think of anything else to talk about and I hoped this wouldn't backfire.

He looked down at his teacup and sighed, "Somewhat. Mum stopped going out so much after you came over, but I didn't really get enough time to recover from it before school started again," he explained while slowly stirring his spoon around in his tea.

I took another sip of my tea, "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. I'm ready to argue with her if she wants an argument," he said and sipped his tea.

We made eye contact. Everyone else were either holding hands, snogging, or both. We were the only ones who weren't physically interacting. I wondered if he felt like he had to make a move or something.

He looked up and a pink tint crept over his face. I looked up and realised why. There was a mistletoe over our table. All of the tables had one.

I looked down and felt my face warm up, "W-well... We-- we don't have to..." My ring started turning into a deep hot pink.

"That's... debatable..." he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Most mistletoes are enchanted. They literally trap the two people underneath it and won't let them go until they kiss."

I looked back up at the mistletoe, "Um..."

I looked at Theo. He ran his hand through his hair and brushed it out of his face. He then looked at my ring before averting his eyes and taking another sip of his tea.

I don't know what happened. My stomach completely turned over and I could feel my heartbeat against my chest. He's... He's kind of- I blinked and took another sip. He's your best friend is what he is, Amanda. I told myself.

He put his teacup down, "Not all of them are enchanted. Some are just for decoration. I can't tell if this one is though..."

"I see..." I replied.

He looked at my ring again. It was still pink. I didn't bother hiding it. It was bound to change soon. Plus, he probably didn't know what the colours meant... Right?

He looked out the window and I took a look at him, "...Your lips aren't chapped anymore," I pointed out.

He looked at me and touched his lips, "Oh? Yeah, I've been trying to stop biting them so much."

"Well, that's good."

The witch came back with the bill and placed it at the edge of the table. Theo pulled it towards him and opened it.

I turned and reached into my pocket, "How much is it?"

"Nothing," he answered.

I looked at him, "I'm sorry?"

"For you at least," he clarified and handed the bill to the witch.

"Hey, wait! I brought some money, too."

"Well, you're not paying," he insisted and the witch turned to leave.

"No! Wait! Don't go anywhere. Let me at least do half," I called and reached out to her.

Theo took my hand and held it down to the table. I detached from the situation for a second. His hand was over mine and he was squeezing it, very tightly.

He nudged the witch's wrist, "Take it."

By the time I broke from my trance, she was already gone. He let go of my hand once there was no chance of getting her.

I pulled my hand back and groaned, "Fine, you win," I grumbled.

He chuckled and finished his tea.

"Next time, I'm paying. Alright?" I said and brought my cup to my lips.

"Next time?" he questioned.

I paused for a millisecond, "I haven't had quality tea in a long time. Nor do I ever get tea at Hogwarts," I reasoned and finished my cup.

He laughed, "Alright," he grinned. 

We wrapped up and got ready to leave. The mistletoe turned out to be only for decoration and didn't force us to kiss.

We got back to the castle and entered the common room.

"So about that 'next time'..." Theo mentioned.

"Yeah?"

"Same place and time?" he asked as we approached the girl's dorm.

I turned to him, "Only if you let me pay."

"Really?"

"Come on! Next Hogsmeade weekend is on Valentine's Day. It's close to your birthday. I want to treat you," I needled and punched him in the shoulder.

"I can't promise you anything."

"Then I can't either," I countered.

He sighed, "If you can get to it first."

"Okay. Same place, same time," I stated.

"Alright," he replied.

I turned to him and pulled him into an embrace. His body stiffened, but he hugged back.

"I had a good time," I said quietly.

"Good," he whispered. "I did too."

We broke apart and he stepped back to head over to the boy's dorm.

"See you at dinner."

He nodded his head and entered his dorm.

I went into my room and Jade and Ruth were already waiting for me.

They jumped up as soon as I opened the door, "Where did he kiss you?" Ruth asked.

I rolled my eyes, "We didn't kiss."

"Awww come on! There's no way you only talked about Quidditch that entire time," Jade insisted.

"Well, we were under a mistletoe, but that was it."

"It didn't trap you?"

"No. Now, what about you?" I asked.

"Don't change the subject! We need to know you kissed!"

"Did you kiss Maya?" I fired back.

She was silent.

"I didn't kiss Theo either. So, how'd it go?"

"She passed the test," Ruth began.

"What test?"

"We asked her about her thoughts on you. She said she didn't believe the rumours," Jade added. 

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Also, remember that time a Gryffindor called you manipulative in potions in first year?"

"Yeah?"

"Apparently a lot of the other Gryffindors don't really like her. Her reputation went down from there," she told me.

"So she's a real keeper, huh?" I asked.

Jade nodded her head, but Ruth looked down and chuckled.

"Well..." she murmured. "She's actually a Chaser."

Jade and I groaned and we both threw pillows at her.


	34. Backfire

~Theo POV~

I went home for winter break. Mum came alone to pick me up at King's Cross. She didn't say anything more than a hello. When we got home, Flicky wasn't immediately at the door to pick up my trunk. Phineas was at the table playing chess.

"Why aren't you with the kids?" Mum asked. She sounded frustrated.

He looked up, "Flicky is watching them."

She groaned and ran up the stairs. As soon as she entered the bedroom, Flicky apparated to me and took my trunk. I went into my room and I fell back on my bed.

"Does Master wants Flicky to brings him something?" Flicky asked.

"No, thanks," I replied.

I hoped I'd at least get an hour of me time before Mum made me babysit the twins again. I didn't. Two minutes after laying down, she opened my door.

"Can you take Sam and Will into the nursery?"

I groaned, "Mum, I just got home..."

"It'll only be 10 minutes. Phineas and I need to talk. Please?"

I rubbed my eyes and followed her into her room. She opened the door and William immediately came running to me. Well, crawling rather. He dragged himself across the floor as fast as he could to get to me. I didn't expect him to be so happy to see me.

He and Samantha looked like completely different babies. They had nearly doubled in size since I last saw them.

I picked up William. He had gotten a lot heavier during my time at school. I got Samantha (who was also much heavier) and I walked quickly over to the nursery.

I set them down next to the toys and sat down on the rocking chair.

Samantha had started playing with the toys, while William was again crawling to me. He managed to pull himself to his feet with the support of the rocking chair, which surprised me.

I picked him up and sat him down next to Samantha, "Play with your sister."

I turned to sit back down, but William pulled on my robe.

"Tee!" he said.

I turned to look at him. He kept pulling on my robe and said, "Tee! Tee!" Over and over again. Samantha looked at me and her eyes lit up. They were both looking at me with big smiles. Or as much of a smile they could muster with the two teeth that they had.

She crawled over to me and grabbed my leg, "Tee!"

I looked at them, "Are... Are you trying to say my name?"

They just looked at me and continued to pull at the hem of my robe.

I got them to let go of my robe and I sat down, "I suppose I could sit here."

They both got really excited and started picking up any toy they could see. Samantha handed many of them to me and I played with her. William crawled on top of me and sat himself down on my lap.

I played with them for a little bit, then I heard my mum's voice through the wall.

"I can't believe you!"

"What! They were fine!"

"You left them alone in the nursery! What if something knocked over? Would you have known? Would you be able to help them?"

"They're pure-blood. They're more resilient than others."

 _"They're babies!"_ Mum hissed.

I couldn't believe him either. What did their blood status have to do with anything?

"They have stronger magic. It's only a matter of time before things go flying around them."

"They're stronger because they're pure-blood? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Look at your son for example. He's a pure-blood and he wasn't born with the disease that killed Hugh."

If it weren't for the fact that I had a baby on my thigh, I would've busted into that room and slapped him across the face. He doesn't know anything about the family's disease. What gives _him_ the right to make that assumption?

"That doesn't change the fact that you left them alone in a room. They could have gotten hurt! It's like I do _all_ the work around here!"

"They did just fine over the summer!"

 _"Theo was watching them!_ He's done more for the twins than you have! You need to start stepping up!"

"I'm not allowed to have free time?"

"You've had free time since they've been born! Theo is the one that deserves some free time. Now, I'm going to go get them, and you're going to help out," Mum concluded.

She soon opened the door to the nursery, "I can take Sam and Will now."

"Okay."

I picked up Will and Mum took Sam. We took them into the master bedroom and I went into my room. 

The next day, Flicky woke me up around 8 and put my breakfast on my desk. Mum came in soon after her.

"Hey, Theo. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied. I hadn't been sleeping well since Dad died.

"Well, I'm going to go to work. Flicky made some tea. It's on the table when you're ready to get up."

"Okay, thanks," I replied and put my head down on the pillow. I thought she had left and closed the door, but she didn't.

"Also, Theo?"

I raised my head again and looked at her.

"You don't have to look after the twins. Phineas is going to be doing that from now on," she said.

"Okay."

"Alright, I have to go. I'll see you at two."

"See you."

She closed my door and I put my head back down. I stayed for about an hour before I ate what Flicky brought me and went downstairs to get some tea.

I passed by Phineas in the living room as I made my way to the kitchen. He was sitting at a table playing chess. The other pieces moved by themselves becoming his "opponent".

I warmed up the tea. We didn't have any matcha so it was just regular green tea.

I walked out of the kitchen and saw Phineas still in the living room playing chess.

"Shouldn't you be watching the twins?" I asked, taking a sip.

He looked up, "They're fine. Probably still sleeping."

"What if they aren't? You won't be able to help them here."

"If anything happens the house elf will take care of it. Or you can if you care so much."

I scoffed, "They're your children. Don't _you_ care about them?"

"Am I not allowed to have downtime when they're sleeping?"

"You've had downtime all summer. Plus, Mum is expecting you to take over. I'm not doing your job anymore," I told him and finished my cup.

"If I tell you to take over, you have to. You're basically my son now."

I dropped the teacup and it shattered. Phineas jumped and Flicky apparated to clean up the shards and fix it.

"How... **_Dare_** you! You think you have the right to call yourself my father?" I fumed. "My father was a great man who **_never_** chose to play chess over taking care of me! You are a sorry excuse of a father and you could never replace mine! Don't you dare call me your son ever again! I am no son of an ignorant wanker!"

I ran back upstairs and into the master bedroom. They were indeed awake and Will was trying to climb out of the crib. I stopped him and put him and Sam on the ground. I looked over at the clock to check the time. 9:47.

 _This is unbelievable..._ I thought.

I ran back downstairs and stopped at the entrance of the living room, "They were supposed to eat half an hour ago," I told Phineas.

He rolled his eyes, "Do you think they're going to die after 30 minutes?"

"That's not the point, you pinhead!"

"Excuse me?"

"If you want respect, you've got to earn it! When you prove to me that you can take care of my brother and sister, then I'll respect you."

He stood up, "Your mother is not going to be happy when she hears what happened here."

"Tell her all you want! She won't be happy about you either, you neglectful git!"

I ran back up the stairs and brought the twins downstairs and into the kitchen. I had to make two trips for each and sat them in their chairs.

I opened the fridge and noticed there wasn't a baby bottle. They had graduated to yogurt and sippy cups. I fed them and brought them back upstairs to the nursery. All without help from Phineas.

Again taking two trips for each, I set them on the ground and left them to the toys. I went back into my room and picked up a charms book before going back into the nursery. I sat down on the rocking chair and opened the book.

I reviewed some of the charms we learned earlier in the month while they played with their toys. They kept themselves busy with the toys for a couple of hours before Will crawled over to me and pulled on the hem of my trousers.

I looked up from the book, "What do you want?"

"Tee!" he replied.

I sighed and closed my book. I got up and walked over to the pile of toys. Will eventually crawled back over next to his sister.

As I took random toys as they handed them to me, I thought back to what Phineas said. _Or you can if you care so much._ Why _did_ I care? They were just a hassle during the summer and a reminder that my mum betrayed my dad.

Will crawled on my lap and smiled at me. I turned him around and bounced him on my thigh. It's not their fault they were the result of an affair. They're still my siblings.

I played with them for a while until it was their nap time. I turned off the lights and told Flicky to tell me if they start crying. I had a couple of hours until Mum came home. I made myself some lunch and went back into my room. I put my charms book back and pulled out a novel.

I luckily didn't have to deal with them crying during their nap time. When they woke up, however, they started to cry. I expected that would happen. I gave them toys but that didn't work. They didn't need changing, so that was out of the question. I ordered Flicky to get their sippy cups and she brought them to me in seconds.

When I gave Will his cup, he stopped crying. I let him hold onto it while I grabbed Sam's. I noticed she wasn't crying anymore and looked around the room for her. She was chewing on my book.

"Sam, don't do that!" I said hastily while I tried to get the book out of her mouth without hurting her. When I finally got it from her, she was ready to start crying again. She would have if Mum hadn't busted through the door and picked her up.

"You're home," I noted.

She looked at me, "Did Phineas make you do this?"

I nodded my head.

She groaned and ran over to Phineas. They yelled at each other for a good 10 minutes. My name came up quite a few times.

It... it sounds horrible but I was hoping this was the beginning of the end of their relationship. By the sounds of it, this wasn't a new thing and the twins weren't getting the care they needed. They deserved better. My mum deserved better. _I_ deserved better.

Once they were done arguing, Mum came back into the nursery, "I'm sorry, Theo. It won't happen again."

"It's okay," I replied.

"I got you some matcha. It's on the table."

"Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome," she sighed. "I want you to hang out with your friends tomorrow."

"Uh, is that a command?"

"Yes. Just go somewhere out of the house when I go to work. I want you to have your own time during the break."

"Okay," I answered. 

~Eren POV~

The break was mostly uneventful. We celebrated Christmas and did nothing else with our time.

While we were boarding the train, Mikasa seemed very eager to get away from me.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going to the Slytherin car. Why don't you find Armin or something?"

"What? Why? You never sit there."

"I'm sitting with someone there..." she said and her face started turning red.

I raised an eyebrow, "...Who?"

"Not important. I'll see you later," she finished and started walking down the train.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out my mirror. Mine was a compact mirror. It was a lot easier to carry, but also smaller.

"Armin," I spoke.

I waited a few seconds and he took his mirror out, "What's up?"

"Mikasa abandoned me. What car are you in?"

"Oh, I'm in the 6th car. I couldn't find Connie and Sasha. It's just me."

"Okay, I'll try to find you," I replied and closed my mirror.

The walkways were clear for the most part. I probably looked like a creep peering into every compartment, but I eventually found Armin.

I pulled my trunk in and put Aerugo on the seat across from him, "Hey."

"Hey, Eren," he greeted.

"How was your break?"

"Nothing much. We stayed home for the most part so I got to work on a plan for Quidditch for most of the break. What about you?"

"We didn't do anything either. How's Alba been holding up?" I asked.

"She hasn't been very busy. I sent a few letters out but she didn't go out much," he replied.

"We should go to the Owlery after dinner. Both our owls could use some activity after the break."

"Okay, good idea."  
  


We separated to get our dragon hide gloves before going to the Owlery. I told my friends where I was going before I left. We met up at the Great Hall.

As we were walking up the stairs, Armin made some small talk about what things we could start training Alba to do.

"What would you recommend we do next?"

"Well, we could do tricks if you wanted to," I replied.

"Is it possible to potty train a bird?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually. It takes a bloody long time but it's possible."

"She made so many messes over the break... I really wish I could've-"

He suddenly stopped and he stumbled backwards as if he hit a wall. He put his hand on his forehead and I stopped him from falling backwards.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He groaned a little bit, "I'm fine... What was that?"

I looked in front of us. We were in the entrance of the Owlery. No one ever put a barrier charm where all the birds are out of all things. I reached my hand out and it stopped at an invisible wall. I tried to push my hand through, but it wouldn't budge.

"Is it a barrier charm?" Armin asked.

"I don't know... What's the point of blocking students from the Owlery? There are many other places that could use one."

"Yeah, I guess... But if it's not that, then what is it?"

I walked out of the entrance and reached my arm out again. Another invisible wall.

"We're boxed in," I said.

"What?"

I turned around and then I saw it. Heat shot to my face and my heart started beating. Armin must have taken notice.

"Eren? Do you know what's going on?"

"Um..." I scratched the back of my neck, "You're not going to like it..."

"What is it?"

"We're under a mistletoe..." I mumbled.

Armin looked up and there it was. Sitting atop the archway of the entrance.

"It's January! What is that doing here?" he questioned.

"I don't know..."

"Amanda told me about them. We can't leave..."

"Yeah..." I replied.

"So..."

"I have to kiss you."

"Yeah..."

I walked up to him and stepped closer. I looked at him and he looked back.

"...So, uh. Where should I do it?" I asked.

He averted his eyes and his face started turning red, "Well... You could kiss my forehead better..."

"Yeah, sure."

I brushed his hair back and I leaned closer.

"No homo," he said.

I chuckled, "Yeah, no homo."

I gave him a quick peck in his forehead and immediately pulled away. He looked down and stepped backwards. After a few seconds of just standing there, I reached my hand out again. We were still trapped.

"It didn't work."

"What?"

"Sometimes it won't go away unless it's a passionate kiss," I explained.

"...Define passionate."

"It's a loose term. We just have to do something different."

He sighed and put his hand on the wall, "Well... We have to try again..."

"We do..."

He stepped closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders. My heart started beating faster and hard on my chest. He curled his lips and looked at me.

"What are you-"

He cut me off by quickly locking his lips with mine. He pulled away before I completely grasped what had happened. He kissed my lips. It barely lasted for a second, but still. We _kissed_. His lips were soft and warm.

He stepped backwards and looked down. I blinked and took a moment to process what he just did.

He cleared his throat and pushed his hair behind his ear, "Um..."

I didn't know what to say. My mind was blank and racing at the same time.

Armin did a hand motion and Alba came flying over. He held his arm out for her to perch on, "I think we can go in now..."

"Yeah..."

We trained our owls for about a half an hour before we went back to our dorms. We almost got caught under the mistletoe again, but Armin stopped me from walking under it and used his wand to toss it over the tower. We parted ways with an awkward farewell.

I climbed all the moving steps of the Gryffindor tower and eventually found the painting of the Fat Lady.

"Lioness," I spoke.

She swung open and I stepped into the common room. Ymir and Jean were on the sofas.

"So... How'd it go with Arlert?" Ymir asked. The way she said it was oddly cheeky.

"It was fine. We just made sure our owls got some exercise."

"And...?" she dragged out the vowel.

"What do you mean?"

"How did the mistletoe work out for you?"

"Wait, how did you know there was a mistletoe?" I asked.

She smiled and shrugged, "You're welcome?"

"You put that there?"

"You know I love pranks. Plus, I knew you were never gonna do it unless you were forced to."

"Ymir!" I shouted.

"What! I helped!"

"There are a million things that could've gone wrong! What would you have done then?"

"Since when do _you_ think rationally?" Jean questioned.

"You know what I mean! I don't need you two playing wing man and woman. I've got myself under control," I told them.

"You sure? It's been over a year since you've fancied him. You haven't made any moves," Jean pointed out.

"I know, and there are reasons why."

"Well, what are they?" Ymir asked.

"None of your business. Just... Don't try to help me. You're only going to screw me over," I finished and went to my dorm.

I pulled out The Marauders Map and closed the hangings, _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_ I found Armin's name climbing up the Ravenclaw tower and into his dorm where Springer was sitting. 

~Armin POV~

I made my way quickly back to the dorm. My mind kept thinking about the kiss and I kept my fingers on my lips as I climbed the tower. I must've looked distressed because Connie started talking when I walked in.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He was laying on his back with a book on his chest.

I sat down slowly on my bed and kept my hand on my mouth. I still hadn't told anyone about my feelings for Eren. Not even Connie. I didn't tell anyone because... Well, it was _Eren._ Connie and Sasha likely put all the bullying in the past, but Amanda... She definitely still has all the torment in the back of her mind.

I looked up at him and he looked back at me. I looked down and lowered my hand, "I think I fancy Eren..." I mumbled.

"Wait, what?" He sat up and closed his book.

"I fancy Eren," I confessed.

He looked at me, "Are you... Are you sure?"

"I kissed him..."

"What! Okay, back up. When did this all start?" he asked.

"Remember back in March when I asked you how society handles being gay in the wizarding world?"

"Yeah."

"That was when I started questioning. Something just... happened when Eren and I were feeding the baby nifflers. Just the way he looked at me and the way he smiled. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"So you've liked him since March?"

"No. Well... Probably... I started staring at him all the time in class and he might be partially why we lost to Gryffindor last year..."

"Seriously?"

"Hey, he was sending Bludgers to me left and right. It wasn't entirely my fault," I defended.

He sighed, "Go on."

"I didn't really admit to myself that I fancied him until Hogsmeade. We talked about dating and it just got me thinking... What if we were...? The more I thought about it, the more I just... Wanted it..." I explained. "Then in the Owlery, we got caught under a mistletoe. It trapped us and wouldn't let us go until we kissed. I kissed his lips..."

"Wow, already?"

I scratched my neck, "I mean... It's not like I had a choice..."

"Does Amanda know?" Connie asked.

"No..."

"What about Sasha?"

"No. You're the first person I've told."

"Are you going to tell Sasha?"

"Probably. I haven't come out to her though... Or Amanda..."

"How do you think Amanda is going to take it?"

I sighed and fell back on my bed, "I don't want to think about that..."  
  


~Theo POV~

I eased back into school when I got back. I wasn't immediately slapped in the face with tons of assignments, but Levi did let us know that we'd be starting practice as soon as we returned.

Amanda and I didn't really get the chance to talk much a few days into school, so we had planned to skip studying and meet up in the courtyard during lunch. I sprinted to my dorm so I could put my books away before meeting her. Forster was right in front of the door and I ran into him.

After regaining our balance, he scolded me, "Merlin! Slow down!"

I ignored him and opened my trunk to put everything away. One of my other roommates, Daniel Montilla, was on his bed tuning a guitar and arranging music in front of him.

I guess Forster didn't like being ignored because he kept talking, "Didn't Daddy ever tell you to say 'excuse me' or 'I'm sorry'?"

I continued to ignore him. He always brought up my father. He's probably the reason why I just couldn't move on about his death.

"I guess Mummy was too busy sleeping around to worry about you."

"Don't talk about my mum like that. You don't know her," I told him.

He chuckled, "How are your little embarrassments doing?"

I shot him a glare but didn't say anything. He was talking about Sam and Will.

"I don't think you ever shared their names."

"Shut-up, Forster," I warned.

He didn't listen to me, "Shall I call them Bastard #1 and Bastard #2? Or maybe-"

I cut him off by backhanding him. Daniel, who had been silent the whole time, looked up and gasped. Forster put his hand on his cheek and his face was full of shock and anger.

I shook the pain off my hand and lowered it, "You want to finish that sentence?" I challenged.

He scoffed and grabbed my robe, pulling me out of the room and into the common room where Liddle was. He had gold rimmed reading glasses and was doing his homework in one of the chairs. When he saw us, he groaned and took his glasses off.

"This little git hit me on the face!" Forster shouted and stood in front of Liddle.

I shook my shoulder out of his grasp, but didn't say anything.

Liddle sighed, "Where did he hit you?"

Forster removed his hand from his face and Liddle leaned closer to see the mark.

He narrowed his eyes, "How about you tell me what really happened."

"No, he really did! He-"

"Mr Foster is left handed. If he had hit you, you'd have a mark on your right side."

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He's not that stupid. He knew I backhanded him. Was he covering for me?

Forster stuttered, "But-"

"Return to your dorms. Both of you. You're wasting my time," he ordered and put his glasses back on.

Forster reluctantly turned around and walked back to the steps.

I didn't leave and turned back to the Head Boy, "Liddle-"

"I believe I asked _both_ of you to return to your dorm," he interrupted.

The way he looked at me made me feel like he knew what he was covering for me but he was also annoyed at me. I decided not to push my luck and went back up to the dorm.

As I walked back up the steps, Forster came running down dragging Daniel by his robe. Calling a witness to stand. Daniel looked at me as if saying _What do you want to do?_

I followed them and did my best to stop Forster, "He told us to go back to our dorm. He's not going to be happy to-"

"Shut-up, Foster!" he snapped as we entered the common room, which got Liddle's attention.

He looked at us and his eyes narrowed, "I told you to go back to your dorm," he said sharply.

"But I have a witness-"

"I don't care! Go back to your dorm before I give you detention. Case dismissed!" Liddle huffed and went back to his homework.

With that, Daniel turned his heel and ran back to the stairs. Forster eventually followed and I left the common room. I had kept Amanda waiting for nearly 10 minutes thanks to that situation. 

Later that night after dinner, Amanda and I quickly ran to our dorms to get ready for Quidditch practice. I came down the steps into the common room and Amanda was there waiting for me. She had her hair braided to the side.

"Hey, Theo," she greeted.

"Hey," I replied. I just looked at her. She was beautiful, as always.

She ran her hand over the braid, "I did it to keep my hair out of my face. I used to braid my hair all the time so I thought I'd do it again," she explained.

"I see," I said and kept looking at her.

She averted her eyes, "Does it look weird...?"

I snapped back and blinked, "Uh- No. It's fine. You look great."

She looked down and smiled. A silence fell between us and we just stood there.

"...We should go," Amanda said.

"Y-yeah..." I replied.

We left the common room and made our way to the Quidditch pitch. Amanda was walking quickly and seemed excited about something.

"You seem awfully happy," I commented.

Her face lit up, "Yeah! I'm really confident about the next game."

"Oh, really?"

"Mhmm! I found something even better than Quidditch Through the Ages."

"You did? What did you find?"

"You'll see," she said and cracked open the door in the meeting room, but she stopped.

"What is it?"

"Shh!" Amanda hushed.

I peaked through the crack. Mikasa and Levi were already in the room at the map table. Levi had already arranged the hoops and player pieces on the map.

"So you can see the dilemma I'm having," Levi said.

"Are you sure you can do it? This is Ravenclaw we're talking about. They have two captains and we've barely practiced all the tactics."

"I know but there's a reason why I push you. I'm sure the team could get the hang of it."

"Then what? We don't have a plan. We don't know what we're doing. How are we supposed to win this?" Mikasa ranted.

Levi sighed, "Are you okay...?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're never this pessimistic. Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine," she insisted.

"Doesn't seem like that to me. Is it something to do with Leonheardt?"

Mikasa stood up, "You idiot!" she said exasperatedly.

She grabbed Levi's robe and pulled him up to her level. She leaned over the table and they shared a rough kiss.

Amanda and I gasped. I looked at Amanda for a second and she looked at me before we looked back.

Levi's eyes were wide open and his face was turning red. After a few seconds, Mikasa pushed him away and lowered her head.

She brought her hand to face, "Sorry..."

Levi opened his mouth to speak, but Mikasa interrupted him.

"I got lucky with Annie. I managed to stay friends with her after the break up, I don't want anything bad to happen to us and what we already have," she vented.

Levi raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"I fell for you... I'm afraid to do anything. You said you expect nothing but professionalism, and I want to respect that. I just... It's too much to ignore..." she murmured.

"Mikasa..." Levi said softly and walked over to her.

Amanda closed the door, "We should probably leave them alone."

"Yeah."

~Armin POV~

I put my plan for the next Quidditch game in one of my notebooks. I was going to bring it to the meeting before practice, but I couldn't find it. I thought I put it in my trunk when we were getting ready to come back.

 _I guess I forgot..._ It wasn't too important. We had a map of the field in our meeting room and I remembered the plan well enough to hold a meeting without it.

"I have an idea," I said as I surveyed the map of the field. I put my hand on the snitch piece, "The snitch gets us 150 points if we catch it. If Slytherin catches the snitch, they win the game. Unless we can score more than 150 points through goals and make sure they don't score."

I looked over to Ian and Reyna, "You two have a very critical role in this. Offense is key for this plan. You need to make sure the Chasers drop the Quaffle and throw off the Keeper to help us score. That makes four people total that you two need to keep track of. It's a difficult task. But you can do it. You've come a long way since tryouts. You got that?"

They nodded their heads.

"Okay, Chasers," I began. "While we have possession, it's your job to do everything you can to keep it until you score. Every goal they score is another on top of the 15 we need to score to make the snitch less valuable. I'll do everything I can to prevent them from scoring. Last time, we avoided using the tactics unless we needed them. That's not the case this time around. We're going to practice every tactic in the book. That goes for everyone," I said.

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Alright, our practices are going to consist of reviewing the tactics and polishing the plan. I left my Quidditch notebook at home, but I'm making everyone a copy of the plan. Any suggestions anyone wants to make?" I asked.

No one said anything.

"Okay, let's practice."

We practiced vigorously over the next following weeks. We all felt confident in the plan and the team seemed ready to play. We didn't review the plan at breakfast, just so that we could give as much of a surprise as possible.

The Slytherin team kept their usual tough look throughout breakfast. They didn't seem intimidated at all.

Breakfast passed and we made our way to the field. We discussed the plan one more time and we got ready to go out.

**"Welcome to the Quidditch Semifinals! Today we have Ravenclaw and Slytherin playing each other."**

Eren was doing the announcements this time. I didn't know how to feel about it. I mean, I always knew he was watching when I played, but hearing him on the speaker was just a reminder that he was there and it made me nervous.

**"On the Slytherin side, the entire team has trained rigorously and they have a very impressive record to show for it. On the Ravenclaw side, Chaser Rico and Keeper Armin are both captains of the team and Armin is known for his mastermind plans. Is it enough to go against the tanks of the Slytherin team? We'll see who wins the game!"**

Rico and I shook hands with Levi and we kicked off the ground. Everyone got in position and waited for the whistle. It was a moment of near dead silence while we waited for the Quaffle to be released. The Chasers stared intensely at each other.

The whistle fired and the Quaffle launched into the air.

**"Ravenclaw takes possession!"**

Historia grabbed the Quaffle and the Chasers immediately got in formation. Ian sent a Bludger to the Chasers and Reyna aimed for the Keeper.

**"And she scores! Ravenclaw is in the lead."**

Amanda caught the Quaffle and passed it to Levi. He was closing in fast. Ian and Reyna got to work and they hovered closer to each other. A Bludger came closer to them and they hit it at the same time. _The_ _Dopple_ _b_ _eater Defense._

As Levi came closer, I jerked my head towards the Bludger, "Incoming!" I warned.

He looked to the right and stopped just in time for it to miss him. However, the speed of the Bludger still threw him off and he dropped the Quaffle.

Hanji caught it and flew to the hoops.

 **"Another score for Ravenclaw,"** Eren announced. 

15 minutes into the game, we stayed at 20 points. The plan seemed to be working, but Slytherin was starting to catch up.

Levi had the Quaffle and Mikasa flew up next to him. They flew side by side for a while until they stood up on their brooms and switched.

Before I was able to process it, they were out of my cone of vision. That was one of the tactics in the book. _The Blitzen Ballet._

I couldn't tell exactly who was who from far away, but one of them started flying towards the hoop to my right. I dove to defend it, but it ended up being Mikasa. I looked to the other side and Levi scored while I was distracted.

**"Slytherin scores. 20-10 in favour of Ravenclaw."**

They managed to score a few more times and they climbed up above us. Something was wrong.

"Armin!"

I looked to my left and Ian was flying towards me.

"Ian! What are you doing?" I asked.

"There's a crack in the plan."

"Okay, I got that. You can't be here. You're gonna get hurt."

"But-"

"DUCK!" Rico shouted. A Bludger was coming for us.

Ian and I dropped about 10 feet and Slytherin scored again. It was Mikasa who threw the Quaffle.

It caught me off guard, but the coach wasn't calling a foul, so it wasn't against the rules.

"Ian, I'll figure it out. Get out of here before you get hurt," I ordered.

He sighed, but flew away.

Historia took the Quaffle and I looked for anything that seemed off. Annie blocked Historia's throw and passed it to Theo. The Slytherin Beaters sent a Bludger to Hanji, who was closing in on him.

**"Slytherin scores again. 50-20."**

It was getting increasingly difficult to score and for me to defend. They were able to predict every tactic that we used and knew how to work against them. Our Beaters were having a difficult time as well. Mikasa was handling the Quaffle with the other Chasers. An odd strategy to go with. Ian and Reyna now had five people they were trying to throw off.

Bludgers were coming to me left and right. It was near impossible for me to defend the hoops. I was occasionally able to stop the Quaffle but I couldn't catch it.

They focused on our offense and defense. The two key things to our plan. But there was no way they could've...

_Hold up..._

Theo passed the Quaffle to Amanda and I made eye contact with her.

Then it hit me, "AMANDA!" My voice echoed across the field.

She threw her head back and started laughing. She knew exactly what she did.

I blew my whistle and the timer stopped. The entire team looked at me and I flew down to the ground.

 **"Ravenclaw calls for a break,"** Eren announced.

Rico was quick to follow me to the ground, "What is it?"

"I don't know if we can pull this off..." I murmured.

The rest of the team came towards the ground.

"They have an Interfering Seeker," Ian said hastily as he came off his broom.

I sighed, "Was that even in the book?"

"It's in the fifth volume. You have the first," Ian explained.

"What does that even mean?" Reyna asked.

Ian turned and pointed at Mikasa, "She's playing both Seeker and Chaser. She can handle the Quaffle and chase after the snitch when it's time."

"So they basically have four Chasers," Historia concluded.

"Well, we still have the plan," Reyna said.

"The plan is toast," I huffed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked.

"Amanda stole my notebook over the break," I sighed.

The rest of the team went silent.

"I thought I just left it at home... I'm sorry..."

"So they know exactly what our plan was," Hanji guessed.

"They had enough time to examine it and find every crack they could possibly use against us," I replied.

"So what do we do now...?" Ian asked.

I sighed, "Our only hope is to catch the snitch." I looked at Connie, "When you see the snitch, get it and end the game as quickly as possible. Beaters, forget the Keeper and ignore the other Chasers. Focus on Mikasa. Make sure she doesn't get that snitch."

The rest of the team nodded and we flew back into the air.

The coach blew the whistle and the timer started again.

Amanda had the Quaffle and was approaching me.

I don't know what happened. Something fired off in me and I was suddenly angry at her.

I narrowed my eyes and dove down to block her throw.

 **"Save by Armin! Ravenclaw back in possession,"** Eren announced.

_I didn't think you'd stoop that low Amanda. I thought you were better than that._

What she did was no different than stealing the answer sheet on a test. All of the team's secrets. Everything was in that notebook. The only difference was that stealing someone's Quidditch plan was just bad sportsmanship, not cheating.

I threw the Quaffle to Hanji and the other Chasers came up next to her to get in formation. Some of the Slytherin Chasers tried to steal the Quaffle, but Ian and Reyna took care of them easily.

**"Eagles score! 50-30."**

Mikasa took the Quaffle and I got ready to defend the hoops. When she was about ten feet away from me, I expected her to stop and throw, but she didn't. She came closer and pushed the Quaffle through the hoop with her hand, which was a foul.

**"Haversacking foul! Penalty is minus 10 points. Slytherin drops down to 40 points."**

Mikasa looked at the other Chasers confused. She didn't know what Haversacking meant. They obviously hadn't been training her to be an interfering Seeker since the beginning of the year.

I looked at Ian and he looked back at me. He was thinking the same thing. She doesn't know how to be a Chaser, that's their weakness.

Rico caught the Quaffle. Everyone on the team was irritated. We were all playing more aggressively now that we knew what my sister did.   
  


**"35 minutes on the clock. 50-40 in favor of Ravenclaw. They're catching up."**

Levi had the Quaffle and was closing in on me. Ian sent a Bludger to him and I got ready. Theo was close by and noticed the Bludger.

"Levi, look out!" he shouted.

Levi stopped and looked in the direction of the Bludger. A red flash suddenly hit the Bludger and it started flying in the opposite direction. We all looked to see where the spell came from. It was Mikasa again.

Everyone was surprised. Every Quidditch player knows that's a major foul.

**"Foul on Slytherin's part again. Wand use. Slytherin is now at zero."**

The entire Slytherin team looked at each other. Even I could read the message they were sending to each other. _"Fuck."_

Now was our chance. Hanji took the Quaffle and got us some points. Slytherin managed to score again a few times, but they were far behind.

**"20 minutes left. 110-40 in favour of Ravenclaw. It could be anyone's game."**

Connie accelerated and the crowd gasped.

**"Snitch in sight!"**

Eren announcing that got Mikasa's attention. She quickly caught up to Connie and started chasing after the snitch.

Ian and Reyna rushed to send Bludgers to her. I focused on defending the hoops, but I had faith in our team.

Ian was getting closer to a Bludger and was about to hit it when it froze and fell. The timer had stopped and the crowds were cheering.

I looked at the scoreboard. 110-190.

**"Slytherin's Seeker has caught the snitch once again! Another victory is claimed by the serpents!"**

I looked at the rest of the team members. Most of them had their shoulders slumped and were making their way to the meeting room. Ian was staring at the scoreboard, completely frozen in place. Reyna came up next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

I went down to our meeting room and went inside. Ian and Reyna were the last two to come in. Ian's head was hung low and he covered half of his face with his hand. When they sat down, I was able to see his eyes. They were glossy, he was crying.

I sighed and stood up, "I take... Full responsibility for this loss," I started. "I don't blame anyone of you for the outcome of the game. I will talk to my sister about what she did and get my notebook back. We all did our best. I'm not disappointed in any of you."

Reyna put her hand on Ian's shoulder and he covered his eyes and hissed. Everything heard.

"Ian," I said softly. "You're not the reason why we lost."

"But I am..." he sniffled. "If I had hit that Bludger in time..."

"You don't know for sure that it would've made a difference. There were multiple factors that caused our loss. The main one being my sister stealing my notebook."

He wiped his eyes, "...Do you actually think I'm a good player?"

I blinked, "I'm sorry?"

"The way you looked at me at tryouts... You only put me in because of pity, didn't you."

"Dismissed," I said to the rest of the team.

Everyone went to go change and Ian and Reyna stayed behind.

I pulled up a chair and sat in front of them, "No, I did not put you on the team because I pitied you. I put you in because you performed better than everyone else," I replied.

"I did tell you that it was his dream to be a Quidditch player," Reyna argued.

"And what did I tell you after that?" I asked.

She was silent.

"I told you that we only take the best. You two performed better than everyone at tryouts and I don't regret putting either of you on the team for a second," I said.

Ian sighed and Reyna averted her gaze.

"Don't blame yourselves. It's their fault that they would stoop that low just to win. We still have one more game. The season isn't over. I'm not giving up on you guys," I continued.

Ian was still emotional.

"I know I'm not helping, but please don't give up on yourself. You're a great Quidditch player. We'll do better next time. You can stay out here and get dressed when you're ready. I'm proud of you, Ian. Remember that," I finished.

He gave me a soft nod and I patted his shoulder before I went to go get dressed.

As I was getting dressed, Ian was still crying. He wasn't screaming, but I was still able to hear it from the changing room.

I left the meeting room and Amanda was outside with my notebook. She had an apologetic look on her face and when she realized Ian was crying, a wash of shame came over her.

I sighed in disappointment and took my notebook back. Eren was jogging across the field to meet me and he saw me taking my notebook from my sister. He sighed and looked like he was about to apologize, but I just shook my head and we walked back to the castle.

 


End file.
